A number is increased by 2 and then multiplied by 3. The result is 24. What is this number?
Let us call this number by x:
This number is increased by 2: x + 2
Then,
it is multiplied by 3: 3(x + 2)
The result is 24: 3(x + 2) = 24 …
Solving this linear equation, we obtain the value of the number:
x + 2 = 24 / 3
x + 2 = 8
x = 8 – 2
x = 6