solve :

5x-10y=-40 for y

I was thinking it was
5x-10(-40)...then solve am I close?

2 answers

no, you want to get y all by itself. So, get all the y's on one side.

5x - 10y = -40
-10y = -40 + 5x
Now divide both sides by 10 to get y all alone:
y = 4 - 1/2 x
Thank you again - helps to see the work