James took two math tests. he scored 86 points on the second test. this was 18 points higher than his score on the first test. write and solve an equation to find the score james received on the first test. show that your answer is reasonable

A simple equation you could use to find the score James got on his first test would be x+18=86 where x is the score he received on the first test.

Solution
x+18=86
   -18-18
x=68

With this in mind, using the equation we created, we know that James received 68 points on his first test.