what is the first step in solving for x in the equation 5.6 ( x + 1.42) = 7.8?
divide both sides by 5.6
multiply both sides by 5.6
subtract 1.42 from both sides
only the left- hand side was divided by 5.6
The first step in solving for x in the equation 5.6 ( x + 1.42) = 7.8 is "divide both sides by 5.6."
To solve for x in the equation 5.6(x + 1.42) = 7.8, the first step is to simplify the equation.
To do this, we need to distribute the 5.6 to both terms inside the parentheses.
5.6(x + 1.42) becomes 5.6 * x + 5.6 * 1.42.
Then, we can simplify further:
5.6 * x + 5.6 * 1.42 = 7.8.
Now, we have the equation 5.6x + 7.952 = 7.8.
Since our goal is to isolate the variable x, we need to manipulate the equation to get x by itself.
The next step is to subtract 7.952 from both sides of the equation:
5.6x + 7.952 - 7.952 = 7.8 - 7.952.
This simplifies to:
5.6x = -0.152.
So far, we have:
5.6x = -0.152.
Now, to solve for x, we need to divide both sides of the equation by 5.6. This will cancel out the 5.6 on the left side, leaving us with x:
(5.6x) / 5.6 = (-0.152) / 5.6.
As a result, we get:
x = -0.027142857142857143.
Therefore, the first step in solving for x in the equation 5.6(x + 1.42) = 7.8 is to divide both sides by 5.6.