Exercise 32 Page 9

To solve the given equation for b, we need to isolate it by adding 316 on both sides of the equation. We want to add 316 because addition and subtraction are inverse operations — they cancel each other out. This is allowed by the Addition Property of Equality.

We will check our solution by substituting this result back into the original equation and simplifying. If doing so results in an identity, our solution is correct.

Since substituting b= 12 resulted in an identity, our solution is correct.