Question

-3(x+4)=9Use the Distributive Property

Answer 1

Given

`-3(x+4)=9`

The distributive property allows you to "distribute" the multiplication to each term inside the parentheses term. This means that you have to multiply each term within the parentheses by the coefficient outside them:

`\begin{gathered} (-3)\cdot x+(-3)\cdot4=9 \\ -3x-12=9 \end{gathered}`

To solve for x, once you have solved the multiplication on the parentheses term, the next step is to pass "-12" to the right side of the equation, do so by applying the opposite operation to both sides of the equal sign:

`\begin{gathered} -3x-12+12=9+12 \\ -3x=21 \end{gathered}`

Note that the x-term is being multiplied by "-3" to cancel the said multiplication you have to divide it by "-3" and, to keep the equality valid, what's done to one side of the equal sign you have to do it to the other side, which means that both sides must be divided by "-3"

`\begin{gathered} -(3x)/(-3)=(21)/(-3) \\ x=-7 \end{gathered}`

The value of x is -7