text: -4r - 3= -27?   -4r - 3 = -27  the first step in solving this equation is to get the variable alone. that means without signs (aka, - or + ) and without coefficients (the number on front). so the first tjing you do, is get rid of the -3. in case you don't know this, its not 3, its -3 because well, it just is. to get rid of it, you need to add something to the first part of the equation to cancel out the three, which in this case would be a positive 3:  -4r - 3 +3 = -27  3 minus three is? nothing. but you have to give the other side of the equation a positive three as well (always remeber the golden rule of algebra: do unto one side what you do to the other)  so then you have: -4r - 3 + 3 = -27 + 3 since the 3's cancel out, you have:  -4r = -27 + 3 since the 27 is negative, and it is a larger number than the 3, you subtract 3 from 27 which is? 24. and since 27 is larger than 3, and 27 has a (-) sign, that's the sign you give the 24. so you have:  -4r = -24.  now, remeber, we want the variable alone, so the next step is getting rid of the -4. when you have a number right next to a variable (the letter) it means you are multiplying them. and if you want to cancel out the -4, we divide -4r by -4. so:  -4r/-4 = -24. -4r divided by -4, leaves you with just the r. so now you have:  r = -24. but remeber the golden rule of algebra? we have to divide the other side of the equation by -4:  r = -24/-4 a negative divided by a negative is a positive, so we have positive? divide 24 by 4, which is 6. so now we have:  r = 6 and thats the end of it.  hope that helps!