If 12 less than 4 times a number is 8, the number is 5. This sentence can be rewritten as 4x - 12 = 8 and x = 5. Another way to write the first equation is to divide both sides by either 2 or 4;
[tex]\frac{4x-12}{2}=\frac{8}{2}\\
2x-6=4\\or\\
\frac{4x-12}{4}=\frac{8}{4}\\
x-3=2[/tex]
So another equation you can use is x - 3 = 2 or 2x - 6 = 4.