The product or 7 and the opposite of a number is decreased by 28. If the resulting number is -35, what is the number?

Question

The product or 7 and the opposite of a number is decreased by 28. If the resulting number is -35, what is the number?

Answer 1

7(-x) -28 = -35

-7x -28 = -35

7x+ 28 = 35

7x = 35 -28

7x = 7

x = 1

Answer 2

Let's call our unknown number x, though you can call it whatever you want to call it.

The opposite of x is –x.

The product of 7 and the opposite of x is written as: 7(–x) = –7x

So, now we are supposed to subtract 28 from that, since decreasing is what happens when you decrease. Now we have: –7x – 28

Now we are told that the above expression is equal to –35, so we have the equation below.

–7x – 28 = –35

What is x? That is the question being asked. What is the original number? I'll let you solve the question after you've carefully followed my explanation so that you can lean to translate English into mathematical symbols.