How to solve 2/3(b-6)

2/3(b-6)

is an expression with the variable b.
We can simplify the expression using the distributive properties of multiplication:
(2/3)(b-6)
= (2/3)b - (2/3)6
= (2/3)b - 4

If the expression was meant to be an equation, it would have been written with an equality sign, such as
2/3(b-6) = 0
In this case, we simplify the expression on the left hand side:
(2/3)b -4 = 0
Add four to each side to isolate the variable:
(2/3)b = 4
Multiply each side by (3/2) to transform the coefficient of b to 1
(3/2)(2/3)b = 4*(3/2)
b = 6
is the answer sought.

MathMate - the distributive properties of multiplication is what I was attempting to use ... however, i am trying to get a clearer picture of how how you derived the answer (2/3)b - 4? Please explain

The distributive property of multiplication over addition/subtraction can be summarized by the following identities:

a(b+c) = ab + ac
a(b-c) = ab - ac
For example:
5(4+3) = 5*4 + 5*3 (both add up to 35)
5(4-3) = 5*4 - 5*3 (both evaluate to 5)
If we apply the second identity, distribution over subtraction, to the given expression,
(2/3)(b-6)
we get
(2/3)(b-6)
= (2/3)b - (2/3)6 ... and simplify
= (2/3)b - 2*6/3
= (2/3)b - 4

got it - thank you

Great!

To solve the expression 2/3(b-6), we can follow these steps:

Step 1: Distribute the 2/3 to the terms inside the parentheses. This means multiplying 2/3 by both b and -6.

(2/3) * b = 2b/3

(2/3) * (-6) = -12/3 = -4

So, now the expression becomes:

2b/3 - 4

Step 2: Simplify the expression by combining like terms. In this case, there are no like terms to combine, so we can leave it as is:

2b/3 - 4

And this is the simplified form of the expression 2/3(b-6).