Solving and equation for a specified variable

Question

The difference between 19 and 2 times a number is 4

Answer 1

Let's represent the missing number with the variable x. Also, recall that the word, "difference", indicates subtraction and the word, "is", indicates equals.

We can write the following equation :

19 - 2x = 4

We can solve this equation for x using inverse operations:

19 - 2x -19 = 4 - 19

-2x = -15

-2x/-2 = -15/-2

x = 7.5

The missing number is 7.5