Find a number that is decreased by 12 when you form half of the number, explain how you got your answer.

It reads to me that

n/2 + 12 = n

multiply each side by two...
n+24=2n
subtract n from both sides
n-n+24 = 2n-n
24=n

check it. Take one half of 24, or 12. Is that the same as the number 24 decreased by 12?

To solve the given problem, let's assume the number as 'n'. According to the problem, when you form half of the number (n/2), you need to subtract 12 from it.

So, the equation becomes (n/2) - 12 = n.

To solve for 'n', we can begin by multiplying both sides of the equation by 2 to eliminate the fraction.

2 * [(n/2) - 12] = 2 * n

This simplifies to n - 24 = 2n.

Next, we can subtract 'n' from both sides of the equation to isolate 'n'.

n - n - 24 = 2n - n

This simplifies to -24 = n.

Therefore, the solution to the problem is n = -24.

To check if this is correct, substitute -24 into the initial equation.

(-24/2) - 12 = -24

-12 - 12 = -24
-24 = -24

Since both sides of the equation are equal, it confirms that -24 is the correct answer.