Question

What is the solution to 4x -14 + 6 = 12?

Answer 1

First add the numbers on the left side together.
Can you do that?

Answer 2

They equal -4?

Answer 3

By numbers I mean the plain numbers that have no variable, -14 and 6.
You can't add numbers with variables to numbers without variable.

Answer 4

The 4x remains as 4x. The -14 and 6 are added together.

Answer 5

-8?

Answer 6

Good, so now you have:
4x - 8 = 12, ok?

Answer 7

I'm with you so far.

Answer 8

4x - 14 + 6 =12
4x - 8 - 12 = 0
4x - 20 = 0
4x = 20
x = 5

Answer 9

The solution to your equation is
x = some number.
We want x by itself, but there are two numbers still on the left side, 4 multiplying x and -8 being subtracted.
We need to get rid of both numbers from the left side. We have to do it in a way that math allows us to do it in.

Answer 10

We are allowed to add the same number to both sides of an equation.
Since there is an 8 being subtracted on the left side, if we add 8 to the left side, the -8 will be gone. But whatever we add to the left side, we must also do to the right side.
So the next step is to add 8 to both sides.

Answer 11

4x - 8 = 12
+8 +8
-----------------Add
4x = 20

Answer 12

20 divided by 4 = 5. hence, x = 5

Answer 13

I get it now, thank you.

Answer 14

Now we got rid of the -8.
We only have one more step to do.

The x is being multiplied by 4. We need to get rid of it from the left side.
We can divide both sides of an equation by the same number.
Since x is being multiplied by 4, we need to divide the left side by 4, since 4/4 = 1.
We must divide the right side by 4 also.

4x/4 = 20/4
x = 5

Answer 15

The final answer is x = 5