Final answer:
The equation (x+5) = 8x + ___ is solved by distributing the 8 across the parentheses.
Therefore, 8 multiplied by 5 gives the number 40, which fills in the blank to complete the equation as (x+5) = 8x + 40.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student needs to determine what should fill in the blank after the plus sign in the equation (x+5) = 8x + ___.
To solve the equation, we distribute the 8 across the parentheses, which means every term inside the parentheses should be multiplied by 8.
So, 8 * x gives us 8x, and 8 * 5 gives us 40.
Thus, the equation should read (x+5) = 8x + 40, where the blank is filled with 40.