First, we start off with distributing the –9 inside the parenthesis. This would result in: –9x – 72 = –18. The second step is to add 72 to each side to cancel the –72 on the left side of the equation. This would result in: –9x = 54. The third step would be to isolate the X by dividing by –9. This would result in: X = –6
Final answer: X = –6
