Question #2e711

2 Answers
Feb 16, 2018

#3x-20=2#

#3x=22#

Thus, x=#22/3#

Feb 16, 2018

6

Explanation:

This can be written as
#20-(3x)=2#

To make it easier to work with, reorder it as
#-3x+20=2#

Now you can subtract 20 from both sides
#(-3x+20)-20=(2)-20#
#-3x=-18#

From here you can divide by -1 then 3, divide by 3 then -1, or divide by negative 3. No matter what you choose, you'll end up with the same answer. I'll show dividing by -3
#-3x/-3=-18/-3#
#x=6#

Therefore, the unknown number is -6. Plug this back into the first equation to check it
#20-(3(6))=2#
#20-18=2#
#2=2#