Solve the following equation

$-\frac{12}{5}$

Explanation

• This is the equation to solve
  • \(-\frac54x = 3\)
• To undo the multiplication by \(-\frac54\), multiply both sides by the reciprocal of \(-\frac45\).
  • \(\require{color} {\color{red}{-\frac45}} \left(-\frac54x \right) = {\color{red}{-\frac45}} (3)\)
• On the left side, the product of a number and its reciprocal is 1: \(-\frac45 \left( -\frac54  \right) = 1\)
  • \(1x = -\frac{12}{5}\)
• The coefficient 1 need not be written since 1x = x
  • \(x = -\frac{12}{5}\)

The solution is \(-\frac{12}{5} \), which you can substitute in the original equation to verify that this is the correct answer.