the product of a certain negative number less two and four times this number is 12. determine the number

Question

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Answer 1

Let x = a negative number

Translating words into algebra gives (x – 2) (4 * x) = 12

Expanding gives 4x^2 – 8x = 12

Then 4x^2 – 8x - 12 = 0

Factoring gives (2x + 2) (2x – 6) = 0

So 2x + 2 = 0 or 2x – 6 = 0

Only 2x + 2 = 0 results in a negative number, x = -1 which is the answer

Answer 2

The number is -1.