Question

5x + 10 = 20

Explain the steps you'd take to solve for x.
First, subtract 10 from both sides of the equation.
Then, divide both sides by 5.
The solution is x

Answer 1

To solve for x, we must first isolate the term containing x which in this problem is 5x.

Since 10 is being added to 5x, we subtract 10 from both sides of the equation to isolate the 5x.

On the left, the +10 and -10 cancel out and on the right, 20 - 10 is 10 and we have 5x = 10.

Now we can finish things off by just dividing both sides of the equation by 5. On the left the 5's cancel and on the right, 10 divided by 5 is 2 so x = 2.