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Linear equations in one variable SAT question

Math · Algebra · Medium · Answer it here, explanation included.

$2 times, open parenthesis, p plus 1, close parenthesis, plus, 8 times, open parenthesis, p minus 1, close parenthesis, equals, 5 p$

What value of p is the solution of the equation above?

Enter a number or fraction (like 3/17 or 0.176). Press Enter to check.

ExplanationShow

The correct answer is 1.2. One way to solve the equation $2 times, open parenthesis, p plus 1, close parenthesis, plus, 8 times, open parenthesis, p minus 1, close parenthesis, equals 5 p$ is to first distribute the terms outside the parentheses to the terms inside the parentheses: $2 p plus 2, plus 8 p, minus 8, equals 5 p$ . Next, combine like terms on the left side of the equal sign: $10 p minus 6, equals 5 p$ . Subtracting 10p from both sides yields $negative 6 equals negative 5 p$ . Finally, dividing both sides by $negative 5$ gives $p equals six fifths$ , which is equivalent to $p equals 1 point 2$ . Note that 1.2 and 6/5 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

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Linear equations in one variable SAT question

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