$$ \begin{aligned} \frac{2}{x}-2\cdot\frac{2}{x}-4 &= 0&& \text{multiply ALL terms by } \color{blue}{ x }. \\[1 em]x\cdot\frac{2}{x}-x\cdot2\cdot\frac{2}{x}-x\cdot4 &= x\cdot0&& \text{cancel out the denominators} \\[1 em]2-4-4x &= 0&& \text{simplify left side} \\[1 em]-4x-2 &= 0&& \text{ move the constants to the right } \\[1 em]-4x &= 2&& \text{ divide both sides by $ -4 $ } \\[1 em]x &= -\frac{2}{4}&& \\[1 em]x &= -\frac{1}{2}&& \\[1 em] \end{aligned} $$

This page was created using