Six times the sum of a number and 3 is 12 less than 12 times the number. How do you find the number?

1 Answer
Jun 21, 2018

The number is #5#

Explanation:

Let's translate the sentence piece by piece:

  • Six times... #\to 6 \times ...#
  • The sum of a number and #3 \to x+3#

So, the left hand side is #6(x+3) = 6x+18#

  • #12# times the number #\to 12x#
  • #12# less than #\to 12x-12#

So, the right hand side is #12x-12#

We can write the equation

#6x+18=12x-12#

Bring all the #x# terms on the left and the numeric terms on the right:

#6x-12x = -18-12#

#therefore -6x = -30#

#therefore x = (-30)/(-6)=5#