the square of a positive number is 24 more than 5 times a number. What is the value of the number?

First, let's construct an algebraic equation to formally find the answer: Let x represent (the value of) the unknown number.  x²= 5x + 24 --- This equation shows that the (positive) number's square equals 24 more than 5 times the number. Now we can solve for x (the number):                  x² = 5x + 24   x² - 5x - 24 = 0 (x + 3)(x - 8) = 0                    x =  -3, 8 Therefore, this means that x (the number ) can be either -3 OR 8. Both will satisfy the description. Hope this helps!