I flipped the fraction and multiplied it by both sides... then got confused on the nine. The answer is 16. What am I doing wrong?
7/8x -9 = 5
(7/8)x - 9 = 5
7/8 x = 14
After that step you multiply 14 by 8 then divide by 7 because you need to multiply the fraction to get x by it self.
To solve the equation 7/8x - 9 = 5, you are correct in flipping the fraction and multiplying it by both sides to eliminate the fraction. However, it seems like there might be a mistake in the specific calculation.
Let's go through the steps to solve the equation and try to identify where the problem might have occurred:
1. Starting equation: 7/8x - 9 = 5
2. To eliminate the fraction, you can multiply both sides of the equation by the reciprocal of the fraction, which is 8/7. Multiplying both sides gives you:
(8/7) * (7/8x - 9) = (8/7) * 5
(8/7) * (7/8x) - (8/7) * 9 = (8/7) * 5
3. On the left side, the fraction (8/7) cancels out with the original fraction (7/8), leaving only:
x - (8/7) * 9 = (8/7) * 5
4. Simplifying further, you get:
x - 72/7 = 40/7
At this point, you should solve for x. To do that, add 72/7 to both sides of the equation:
x - 72/7 + 72/7 = 40/7 + 72/7
x = 112/7
x = 16
So, the correct answer is x = 16.
If you obtained a different answer, it's possible that a mistake was made during the calculations. Double-check your work for any errors in the multiplication or addition/subtraction steps.