A student solved the equation: x + 2 (x + 1) = 17

Line 1: x + 2x + 1 = 17
Line 2: 3x + 1 = 17
Line 3: 3x = 16
Line 4: x = 16/3
Identify the Property used to go from Line 2 to Line 3: Distributive, Multiplication property of equality, or Subtraction Property of Equality?
Which line has a mistake?
What should have been the correct answer for the equation: No solution, x = 5, x = 45, x = 15

1 answer

Let's analyze the student's solution step by step:

  1. Line 1: \( x + 2(x + 1) = 17 \) becomes \( x + 2x + 2 = 17 \) (not 1).

    • Here is the mistake. The student incorrectly expanded \( 2(x + 1) \). The correct expansion should be \( 2x + 2 \).
  2. Line 2: \( 3x + 1 = 17 \) is derived from Line 1, and it should actually be \( 3x + 2 = 17 \).

  3. Line 3: The simplification to \( 3x = 16 \) is incorrect due to the previous mistake. The correct equation should have been \( 3x + 2 = 17\), leading to \( 3x = 15 \).

  4. Line 4: Claims \( x = \frac{16}{3} \) is therefore incorrect based on the previous mistakes.

To answer your questions:

  1. Identify the Property used to go from Line 2 to Line 3: This should actually involve the Subtraction Property of Equality, but in this case, since Line 2 itself is incorrect, this property was not applied correctly.

  2. Which line has a mistake? Line 1 has a mistake in the expansion.

  3. What should have been the correct answer for the equation?

    • Following the correct derivation: From \( 3x + 2 = 17 \):
      • Subtract 2 from both sides:
      • \( 3x = 15 \)
      • Divide by 3:
      • \( x = 5 \)
    • Therefore, the correct answer is x = 5.