Question: Solve for $w$.
$72 - w = 184$
1. **State the problem:** Solve the equation $$72 - w = 184$$ for the variable $w$.
2. **Isolate the variable $w$:** To solve for $w$, we want to get $w$ alone on one side of the equation.
3. **Subtract 72 from both sides:**
$$72 - w - 72 = 184 - 72$$
This simplifies to:
$$-w = 112$$
4. **Multiply both sides by $-1$ to solve for $w$:**
$$-1 \times (-w) = -1 \times 112$$
$$w = -112$$
5. **Final answer:**
$$w = -112$$
This means $w$ is $-112$ to satisfy the original equation.