Misha found that the equation –|2x – 10| – 1 = 2 had two possible solutions: x = 3.5 and x = –6.5. Which explains whether or not her solutions are correct?

An absolute value is always zero or positive, so −|2x − 10| is always zero or negative. Subtracting 1 makes the left side at most −1, so it can never equal 2. Therefore, there are no solutions, and Misha’s proposed values are not correct.

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