document.write( "Question 494026: PLEASE HELP...IF YOU DOUBLE A NUMBER AND THEN ADD 12, YOU GET ONE HALF OF THE ORIGINAL NUMBER. WHAT IS THE ORIGINAL NUMBER? \n" ); document.write( "
Algebra.Com's Answer #335694 by bucky(2189)![]() ![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! Let x be the original unknown number. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Double that number means taking 2 times x which is written as 2x. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Then add 12 to that and you have 2x + 12 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "The problem tells you that this should equal 1/2 of the original number, or (1/2)x \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Setting these two quantities equal results in the equation: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "2x + 12 = (1/2)x \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "You can get rid of the fraction on the right side by doubling both sides of this equation ... Do that by multiplying both sides (all terms) by 2 and the equation becomes: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "4x + 24 = x \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Subtract x from both sides: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "3x + 24 = 0 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Then subtract 24 from both sides: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "3x = -24 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Finally solve for x (the original number) by dividing both sides of this equation by 3 to get: \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "x = -24/3 = -8 \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "So the answer is that the original unknown number is -8. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Check it out. Double it to get -16 then add 12 to the -16 and the result is -4. This checks because it is supposed to equal half the original number which is one-half of -8. And it does. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "This checks the answer. The original number is -8. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( "Hope this helps you to understand the problem. \n" ); document.write( ". \n" ); document.write( " |