Start from zero — the basic math you need before everything else
A two-step equation has two things done to x, like 2x + 3 = 11. Here x is multiplied by 2 and 3 is added. To solve it you peel these away one at a time, keeping the scale balanced at every step.
The key is the order: undo in reverse. First undo the adding or subtracting, then undo the multiplying or dividing. (It's the reverse of the order of operations, so you unwrap the outer layer first.) Always check your answer at the end.
Undoing two steps is like getting undressed: you put your socks on then your shoes, but to undo it you take the shoes off first, then the socks — reverse order. In 2x + 3 = 11, x was multiplied then 3 was added, so undo the + 3 first, then the × 2.
▶ Two-Step Equations