Question

What is the first step in solving the equation 12(x + 7) = 0 for x ?(1 point) Responses Divide both sides by 12. Divide both sides by 12. Add 7 to both sides. Add 7 to both sides. Subtract 7 from both sides. Subtract 7 from both sides. Multiply both sides by 12.

Answer 1

To solve the equation 12(x + 7) = 0 for x, the first step is to divide both sides by 12 to isolate the term containing x, simplifying the equation to x + 7 = 0.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first step in solving the equation 12(x + 7) = 0 for x is to divide both sides by 12. This is because we want to isolate the term x+7 by getting rid of the multiplication by 12.

After doing this division, we will have x+7 = 0, and from there we can solve for x by subtracting 7 from both sides.

Multiplication or division by the same number on both sides of an equation does not change the equality.

When you divide both sides of an equation by a number, it should apply to every term on that side of the equation.

Hence, 12(x + 7) / 12 = 0 / 12, which simplifies to x + 7 = 0, as the 12s on the left side cancel out.

Answer 2

The first step in solving the equation 12(x + 7) = 0 is to divide both sides by 12, simplify the equation to x + 7 = 0, and then isolate x by subtracting 7 from both sides to find x = -7.

Step-by-step explanation:

The first step in solving the equation 12(x + 7) = 0 for x is to divide both sides by 12.

This is because you are dealing with a multiplication situation where the entire expression x + 7 is being multiplied by 12.

To isolate x, you must undo this multiplication by performing the inverse operation, which is division in this case. Hence, you divide 0 by 12, which will simplify the equation to x + 7 = 0, and you can then proceed to solve for x.

Here is a breakdown of the step-by-step explanation:

1. Divide both sides of the equation 12(x + 7) = 0 by 12, which gives us x + 7 = 0.
2. Now, you can easily isolate x by subtracting 7 from both sides, which would give us x = -7.
3. Check the answer to see if it is reasonable, which in this case, it is because 12 times -7 plus 84 equals 0.