Question 619927:  Hello. I am sorry for the bother, but please help me. During the summer, I must study algebra so that I can (re)take the test for this one charter school. However, because I am so bad at math, I cannot complete this alone. For today, I just need help understanding the whole concept of "equations". Particulary, I need help on simple things like 3x+6=30... solve for x. Again, I am very sorry for this immediate disturbance. I have tried +6 on both sides, but I do not know what to do next. I must pass their test. Yet, I am still stuck on this simple problem... please help! Thank you. 
 Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)      (Show Source): 
You can  put this solution on YOUR website! You don't add 6 to both sides. You want to undo that +6 on the left side. So you subtract 6 from both sides
 
 
to go from
 
 
3x+6 = 30
 
 
to
 
 
3x+6 -6 = 30 -6
 
 
Then notice how 6-6 on the left side becomes 0 and it goes away. On the right side, 30-6 becomes 24
 
 
So we then get
 
 
3x = 24
 
 
Now divide both sides by 3
 
 
3x/3 = 24/3
 
 
x = 8
 
 
So the answer is x = 8 
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