I know I am being slow on the up take here, Heureka says the answer is:
11x - 3 = 9x + 23
2x = 26
x = 13
But how do I know to substract the x and add the whole numbers?
11x - 3 = 9x + 23 Isolate x to the LHS. Subtract 9x from both sides.
11x - 9x - 3 = 23 Add 3 to both sides
2x =23 + 3
2x = 26 Divide both sides by 2
x =26/2
+168 
