Solve the equation. Choose the method you prefer to use. Check your answer.

Question

b/13 - 9b/13 = 48/13

b=

Answer 1

To solve the equation b/13 - 9b/13 = 48/13, we can combine the like terms on the left side of the equation:

b/13 - 9b/13 = (b - 9b)/13 = -8b/13

So the equation becomes -8b/13 = 48/13.

To isolate the variable b, we can multiply both sides of the equation by 13:

13 * (-8b/13) = 13 * (48/13)

-8b = 48

Dividing both sides of the equation by -8 gives us:

b = 48/(-8)

b = -6

To check our answer, we substitute b = -6 back into the original equation:

-6/13 - (9 * -6)/13 = 48/13

Simplifying the left side, we get:

-6/13 + 54/13 = 48/13

Combining the like terms, we have:

48/13 = 48/13

Since the equation is true, our answer b = -6 is correct.