math problem

[sunserayer]

4x+8<12

my name is sunserayer and this my second class in math
this class is hard this problem how to solve it
i am not good with all these x,o,m,=+ and other symbols and sign

so when it come to solving a problem wit 4(8-9)-m= i just dont understand what this mean cause i would just minus 4 from 8 -9 =1

i guess what i am trying to say is can some one give a way to make me understand when i am supposed to use a letter or number and why?
if i could just understand this first maybe i could work the problem

 

[arthur ohlsten]

x is a unknown number
< means "less than"

if 8 is added to 4 times a number the answer is less than 12. What is the unknown number?
4x+8<12
subtract 8 from each side of the < sign
4x<12-8
simplify the right side of the < sign
4x<4
we now know that 4 times the number is less than 4, but we want to know what the number is less than not 4 times the number. divide both sides by 4
x<1

the answer is that all numbers less than 1 , when 8 is added to 4 times it the result is less than 12

Arthur

 

[garf]

examples of these numbers are 1, .5, 0, -1, -2,...