Mary and john are attemping to solve the equation 10(x + 2) = 5(x + 8), john says the solution is x = 1 while mary says the solution is x = -12. is john or mary correct or are they both wrong?

Answer 1

To solve the equation 10(x + 2) = 5(x + 8), we need to distribute the numbers inside the parentheses:

10x + 20 = 5x + 40

Next, we can combine like terms by subtracting 5x from both sides:

10x - 5x + 20 = 5x - 5x + 40

Simplifying, we get:

5x + 20 = 40

Then, subtracting 20 from both sides gives:

5x + 20 - 20 = 40 - 20
5x = 20

Finally, dividing both sides by 5 gives us the solution:

x = 20/5
x = 4

So, neither John nor Mary is correct. The solution to the equation is x = 4.