< or > is the same as saying =. So, keep in mind, whatever you do to one side, you do to the other. Step 1 is to isolate X. To do so, minus 5 from both sides. 5-5=0, so the equation becomes: 3x <0.75x-5 . Then you subtract 0.75 from both sides. This now looks like this: 2.25x <-5 . Now, divide both sides by 2.25. X=(-5/2.25).