First you have to combine like terms, so on the left, you do 8w-6w = 2w. So now on the left, you have 2w-8=4w-7. Now you need to get the w on one side of the equal sign and the constants on the other side. I personally like my variable on the right, but it doesn't really matter. So now, you subtract 4w on BOTH sides, so that on the right it cancels with the first 4w and it subracts 4 from the 2. So you're with -2w-8=-7. Now do the same with the constants. You add 8 since the first 8 has a minus sign in front of it. Add 8 to the left and it cancels, and add 8 to the right (-7+8) which equals 1. Your main goal is to get 'w' by itself, So you now divide both sides of the equal sign by the number in front of the variable, 'w'. Divide -2w by -2 and then divide 1 by -2. Your answer will be w= -1/2 To check your answer you plug in (-1/2) everywhere you see 'w' and make sure each side equals the other. Hope this helps & Makes sense ! (:
