Question

If 5^3b-1 = 5^b-3 what is the value of b?

Answer 1

b = -1

Explanation:

Your equation is ...

(5^3)b -1 = 5^b -3

This is a mix of exponential and linear terms, and cannot be solved algebraically.

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We suspect you might mean ...

5^(3b -1) = 5^(b -3)

We can equate the exponents to find a value for b:

3b -1 = b -3

2b = -2 . . . . add 1-b to both sides

b = -1 . . . . . . divide by 2