7y − 4 = 3y + 12. Find y.

**The reasoning** This is a simple linear equation. The principle here is **collecting like terms** — get all the y's on one side, all the numbers on the other. Starting with: 7y − 4 = 3y + 12 Subtract 3y from both sides: 7y − 3y − 4 = 12 4y − 4 = 12 Add 4 to both sides: 4y = 12 + 4 4y = 16 Divide both sides by 4: y = 16 ÷ 4 = **4** **Why the wrong options tempt you** **Option A (2):** Maybe you subtracted wrong or divided 12 by 4 instead of 16. **Option B (3):** Perhaps you made an arithmetic slip when collecting terms — forgetting to carry the negative sign properly. **Option D (8):** This likely comes from forgetting to add 4 before dividing, so you divided 12 by something incorrectly, or added instead of subtracting somewhere. **Quick takeaway** Always move variables to one side, numbers to the other, then isolate your unknown — JAMB loves testing if you can handle signs carefully!