Solve for X: Finding the Number That Equals -17 When -5 Is Added

To solve this problem, we need to follow these steps:

• Step 1: Write down the equation representing the problem: $x + (-5) = -17$.
• Step 2: Isolate the variable $x$ by performing basic arithmetic operations.

Now, let's work through each step:

Step 1: The equation given by the problem is $x + (-5) = -17$. This means we need to find a number $x$ that, when -5 is added, results in -17.

Step 2: To solve for $x$, we need to isolate it. We can do this by adding 5 to both sides of the equation:

$x + (-5) + 5 = -17 + 5$

On the left side, adding 5 cancels out the -5, leaving us with:

$x = -17 + 5$

Now, perform the arithmetic operation on the right-hand side:

$-17 + 5 = -12$

Therefore, the number we are looking for is $x = -12$.

Thus, the solution to the problem is $-12$.