Question
Tom needs to solve this equation for x.
3x−5=26
Which would be the best first step Tom could make to solve the equation?
(1 point)
Responses
add 5 to both sides of the equation
add 5 to both sides of the equation
divide 3x by 3
divide 3x by 3
subtract 5 from the left side of the equation
subtract 5 from the left side of the equation
divide both sides of the equation by 26
divide both sides of the equation by 26
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3x−5=26
Which would be the best first step Tom could make to solve the equation?
(1 point)
Responses
add 5 to both sides of the equation
add 5 to both sides of the equation
divide 3x by 3
divide 3x by 3
subtract 5 from the left side of the equation
subtract 5 from the left side of the equation
divide both sides of the equation by 26
divide both sides of the equation by 26
Skip to navigation
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The best first step for Tom to solve the equation \(3x - 5 = 26\) is to **add 5 to both sides of the equation**.
This step will eliminate the \(-5\) on the left side, making it easier to isolate the variable \(x\). Here’s how it looks:
\[
3x - 5 + 5 = 26 + 5
\]
This simplifies to:
\[
3x = 31
\]
After this step, he can proceed to solve for \(x\).
This step will eliminate the \(-5\) on the left side, making it easier to isolate the variable \(x\). Here’s how it looks:
\[
3x - 5 + 5 = 26 + 5
\]
This simplifies to:
\[
3x = 31
\]
After this step, he can proceed to solve for \(x\).