4 times the sum of a number and negative 5 is 12.
We will have "x" represent "number."
So 4 times the sum of x and negative 5 is/equal to 12.
Sum is the answer to an addition expression, so the sum of x and negative 5 is x + -5 or x - 5.
So now we can easily put everything together.
4(x - 5) = 12
And if you want to solve this, we will first distribute:
4x - 20 = 12
Now we will add 20 to both sides:
4x = 32
Divide 4 to both sides:
x = 8