To solve the equation 5/8 * (x - 1/2) = 10 the first stop is to reverse the multiplication What number should both sides be divided by?
To solve the equation 5/8 * (x - 1/2) = 10, the first step is not to reverse the multiplication. Instead, we should simplify the equation by multiplying both sides by the reciprocal of 5/8, which is 8/5:
(8/5) * (5/8) * (x - 1/2) = (8/5) * 10
This simplifies to:
(x - 1/2) = (8/5) * 10
Now, we can solve for x by adding 1/2 to both sides:
(x - 1/2) + 1/2 = (8/5) * 10 + 1/2
This simplifies to:
x = 8/5 * 10 + 1/2
Now, we can evaluate the right-hand side:
x = 16 + 1/2
Thus, the solution is:
x = 16 + 1/2 = 16.5