Final answer:
To solve –(x/4) = 5, multiply both sides by -4 to get x = -20, using the multiplication property of equality.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve the equation –(x/4) = 5 for x, we need to isolate x. First, we can apply the multiplication property of equality to get rid of the fraction. Since x is being divided by 4, we multiply both sides by -4 (the negative is to counteract the negative already present, as per the rules of signs in multiplication, negative times negative is positive).
Doing this step-by-step:
- Multiply both sides by -4 to get x: –(x/4) × -4 = 5 × -4
- Simplify both sides: x = -20
The sign rules for multiplication tell us that multiplying two negative numbers results in a positive product, and when we multiplied -4 by –5(x/4), it resulted in a positive x. Thus, by applying the multiplication property of equality, we have found the value of x.