Consider the equation.

−2x−5=−21


Determine the best TWO steps to solve the equation.

Identify the solution.

1 answer

To solve the equation \(-2x - 5 = -21\), we can follow these two steps:

Step 1: Add 5 to both sides of the equation to isolate the term with \(x\).

\[ -2x - 5 + 5 = -21 + 5 \] \[ -2x = -16 \]

Step 2: Divide both sides by -2 to solve for \(x\).

\[ \frac{-2x}{-2} = \frac{-16}{-2} \] \[ x = 8 \]

The solution to the equation is \(x = 8\).