Question

Elise says, "If you subtract 17 from my number and multiple the difference by -4, the result is -12." What is Elise's number?

Answer 1

20

Explanation:

Let's call the number we are looking for "x." If we put the question into an equation we get:

-4 ( x - 17) = -12

Now we solve for x.

x - 17 = -21/-4

x-17 = 3

x = 3 + 17

x = 20