So what you do is subtract 5 from the left side, that cancels out the five. Then, you always do the same to the other side; so subtract 5 from the right side. 3-5= -2.. So now that you subtracted 5 from both sides, the equation is: x/-8=-2 You want to get x alone. So what is the opposite of dividing? Multiplying. So multiply x/-8 by -8. This makes x. Now do the same to the other side. -2*-8=16. Now that you multiplied -8 to both sides, the equation now is:x=16. That's your answer. x=16
