Question

-3w + 3 > 18

Answer 1

Treat the > as an = initially.

Subtract 3 from both sides, leaving
-3w = 15
Now divide by 3, leaving
-w = 5

Now multiply by -1:
w = -5

With inequalities, when you multiply by -1, you have to switch the sign. Let's take a look.

Going back to the inequality, we see that -3 * -5 + 3 = 18

This is what we wanted and expect. Now, lets try a value greater than -5: - 4 (A smaller negative number is greater).

-3 * -4 + 3 = 12+3 = 15. This is less than 18, but our original inequality wants > 18. So let's check our work with a smaller number for w, -6.

-3 * -6 + 3 = 18 + 3 = 21. This works! So our final answer will be:

w <- 5

Answer 2

wowzers! ... thank you sooo much!