Question

which operation would typically be used first when solving the equation $3x + 5 = 20$ for $x$?
a. division
b. multiplication
c. addition
d. subtraction

Explanation:

To solve the equation \( 3x + 5 = 20 \) for \( x \), we use the inverse operations in the reverse order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS). The equation has multiplication (\( 3x \)) and addition (\( +5 \)). To isolate the term with \( x \) (\( 3x \)), we first need to undo the addition of 5. The inverse of addition is subtraction, so we would subtract 5 from both sides first.

Answer:

d. Subtraction