$$ \begin{aligned} \frac{1}{4}x+17 &= x-4&& \text{multiply ALL terms by } \color{blue}{ 4 }. \\[1 em]4 \cdot \frac{1}{4}x+4\cdot17 &= 4x-4\cdot4&& \text{cancel out the denominators} \\[1 em]x+68 &= 4x-16&& \text{move the $ \color{blue}{ 4x } $ to the left side and $ \color{blue}{ 68 }$ to the right} \\[1 em]x-4x &= -16-68&& \text{simplify left and right hand side} \\[1 em]-3x &= -84&& \text{ divide both sides by $ -3 $ } \\[1 em]x &= \frac{-84}{-3}&& \\[1 em]x &= 28&& \\[1 em] \end{aligned} $$

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