Expert: Lynn Houston - 1/20/2010

Question
could you possibly help me find the value of x in this equation?

(x+3)÷(x+5)=(x-1)÷(x+3)

Answer
(x+3)/(x+5)=(x-1)/(x+3)  Multiply both sides of the eq by (x+5)(x+3)
x+3(x+3) = (x-1)(x+5)  do the math (ie multiply)
x^2 + 6x + 9 = x^2 + 4x - 5  subtract x^2 and 4x and add 5 to both sides
2x + 14 = 0  subtract 14 from both sides
2x = -14   divide both sides by 2
x = -7

If you don't understand a step, let me know