Question

Consider the following word problem: Twenty more than four times a number is equal to the difference between 2 and twice the number. Find the number.

Answer 1

Given:

The objective is to find the number.

Explanation:

Consider the unknown number as x,

First, four times the number can be written as 4x.

Twenty more than 4 time the number will be,

$4x+20\ldots\ldots.\text{ (1)}$

Then, twice the number can be represented as 2x.

And the difference between 2 and twice the number will be,

$2-2x\ldots\ldots..(2)$

Now, equate both the equations (1) and (2).

$\begin{gathered} 4x+20=2-2x \\ 4x+2x=2-20 \\ 6x=-18 \\ x=\frac{-18}{6} \\ x=-3 \end{gathered}$

Hence, the unknown number is -3.