We are asked to solve for "a" in the equation:
3 a + 2 = -8
so we need to isolate the unknown "a" on one side of the equal sign.
We proceed to remove the term "2" on the left, by subtracting "2" from both sides:
3 a + 2 - 2 = - 8 - 2
3 a = - 10
Now we need to get rid of the factor "3" that is multiplying "a", so for that we divide both sides by 3 (because 3/3 will give 1 cancelling that factor):
3 a / 3 = - 10 / 3
a = - 10/3
Then the answer is that "a" equals negative ten thirds (-10/3)