Question

How do you find the numbers if twice the sum of 5 times a number and 8?

Answer 1

• Twice the sum of . . .

This means `2` times whatever follows in the sentence

• `5` times a number

Let `x` represent the unknown number (a number) that `5` is being multiplied by

Therefore, `5` times a number is written as:

`5xxx` or `5x`

• `5` times a number (`5x`) and `8`

`5x` and `8` are being added as stated earlier in the sentence
"the sum of. . ."

5 times a number and 8 is written as:

`5x + 8`

Now, apply "twice the sum of..." to `5x+8`

`2(5x+8)`

`2(5x+8)` is the expression of " twice the sum of 5 times a number and 8"

Although, the value of `x`, the unknown number, cannot be found because there is no value given for the solution such as `2(5x+8)=12`