|x - 6| + 8 = 17
Subtract 8 from both sides.
|x - 6| + 8 - 8 = 17 - 8
|x - 6| = 9
Set x - 6 to 9 and -9, which leads to two cases.
x - 6 = 9
x = 9 + 6
x = 15
x - 6 = -9
x = -9 + 3
x = -6
Which is the answer?
Plug both values into the original absolute value equation to see which yields a true statement.
Let x = 15
|15 - 6| + 8 = 17
|9| + 8 = 17
9 + 8 = 17
17 = 17
Let x = -6
|-6 - 6| + 8 = 17
|-12| + 8 = 17
12 + 8 = 17
20 DOES NOT EQUAL 17.
Answer: x = 15