Answer:
The value of p is -5.
Step-by-step explanation:
The equation to be solved is:
2.5(-3p - 8) + 5p = 4(2.25p + 5.5) + 15.5
-7.5p -20 + 5p = 9p + 22 + 15.5
-2.5p - 20 = 9p + 37.5
The properties of the equality means that for every operation we do on one side the same operation must be done on the other side.
We want to isolate the terms with "p" to the left side, so we subtract both sides by "-9p":
-2.5p - 20 - 9p = 9p + 37.5 - 9p
-11.5p - 20 = 37.5
We now need to sum both sides by "20", so we have:
-11.5p -20 + 20 = 37.5 + 20
-11.5p = 57.5
Now the last step to solve it, we need to divide both sides by "-11.5":
-11.5p/(-11.5) = 57.5/(-11.5)
p = -5
