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38 votes
38 votes
Liliana solved the equation below. When she tried to verify her answer, she realized she made an error.

One-third (x + 18) = 7
One-third x + 6 = 7
One-third x + 6 minus 6 = 7 + 6
One-third x = 1
x = 3

Which correction should Liliana make?

User Lalit Sharma
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2.7k points

2 Answers

23 votes
23 votes

Liliana made an error while solving the equation. Let's go through the steps to identify the correction she needs to make.

The original equation is: One-third (x + 18) = 7

Step 1: Distribute the one-third to the terms inside the parentheses.

One-third x + 6 = 7

Step 2: Isolate the variable by subtracting 6 from both sides.

One-third x + 6 minus 6 = 7 minus 6

One-third x = 1

So far, Liliana's steps are correct.

Step 3: To solve for x, we need to multiply both sides of the equation by the reciprocal of one-third, which is 3.

(One-third x) * 3 = 1 * 3

x = 3

Liliana's final answer is correct. She does not need to make any corrections.

Therefore, the correct answer is: The final step should be x = 3.

I hope this helps!

20 votes
20 votes
Third step has the error. Subtracted 6 on left while adding 6 on the right side. Needs to be minus on both sides to get rid of 6.
User Mimere
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3.6k points