Translate the following into an equation and then solve the equation.

Question

"Five less than the product of a number and -2 is -13"

(1 point)
Responses

The number is 4
The number is 4

The number is -8
The number is -8

The number is -5
The number is -5

The number is -12

Answer 1

Let's denote the unknown number as \( x \).

According to the statement "Five less than the product of a number and -2 is -13", we can translate this into the following equation:

\[ -2x - 5 = -13 \]

Now, let's solve the equation step by step.

1. Add 5 to both sides:

\[ -2x - 5 + 5 = -13 + 5 \] \[ -2x = -8 \]

2. Now, divide both sides by -2:

\[ x = \frac{-8}{-2} \] \[ x = 4 \]

Thus, the solution is that the number is \( 4 \).

Final answer: The number is 4.