Why did Odysseus place beeswax on the men's ears when they pass the land of Sirens?

So the men wouldn't hear the siren's trapping song or else they would have been lost at sea or dead.

Explanation:

substitute y = 2x - 4 to x + 2y = 12:

x + 2(2x - 4) = 12     use distributive property

x + (2)(2x) + () = 12

x + 4x - 8 = 12     add 8 to both sides

5x = 20     divide both sides by 5

x = 4

put the value of x to the first equation:

y = 2(4) - 4

y = 8 - 4

y = 4