Solve 3 (z + 1) + 11 < - 2 (z + 13)

The answer is z < - 8. First of all, you use distributive property to get rid of the brackets. 3 (z) = 3z and 3 (1) = 3. The left side of the equation is now 3z + 3 + 11. Then, on the other side, - 2 (z) = - 2z and - 2 (13) = - 26. The right side of the equation is now - 2z - 26. Then we combine like terms on the left side so we end up with 3z + 14 while the other side is still - 2z - 26. We can put all of the z on the left side, so add 2z to both sides and then we have 5z + 14 < - 26. We can put all of the "regular" numbers on the right side, so subtract 14 from each side and then we have 5z < - 40. Divide each side by 5 and you end up with z < - 8!