Question

How do you solve `4x=-14`?

Answer 1

Use division such that `x` is alone on one side of the equation, and you will find that `x=-7/2=-3.5`

Explanation:

To solve for `x`, we will divide both sides of the equation by a constant value. This will bring both sides of the equation down by an equal amount, and `x` will ideally be alone on the Left-Hand Side (LHS).

In the problem statement, `x` is multiplied by 4. Therefore, we should divide both sides by 4 to get `x` alone on the LHS:

`(cancel(4)x)/cancel(color(red)(4))=(-14)/color(red)(4)`

`rArr x=(-14)/4`

Now, we can simplify the fraction on the Right-Hand Side (RHS) to get our answer:

`color(green)(x=-7/2=-3.5)`