"five times more than that" -----> 5 * (a + 2) ---> 5(a + 2)
"the sum of that number and 5 times the number more than 2"
a + 5(a + 2)
"is 26 more than four times the number" ----> = 4*a + 26 ---> = 4a + 26 a + 5(a + 2) = 4a + 26 [tex]\bf a+5(a+2)=4a+26\implies a+5a+10=4a+26
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6a-4a=26-10\implies 2a=16\implies a=\cfrac{16}{2}\implies \boxed{a=8}[/tex] 3) "eight times the number" ---> 8 * a, or 8a
"3 less than that" ----> 8a - 3 "the number increased by 1" ---> a + 1