What number makes the expression - 7 + [?] +b times 1 equivalent to b?
To make the expression \(-7 + [?] + b \times 1\) equivalent to \(b\), we need to find the value of the missing number, represented by \([?]\).
We know that multiplication should be performed before addition, so we can rewrite the expression as \(-7 + [?] + (b \times 1)\).
Since we want the expression to be equal to \(b\), we need to subtract \(b\) from the expression: \( - 7 + [?] + (b \times 1) - b = b - b \).
To simplify the expression, we have: \( -7 + [?] + (b - b) = 0 \).
To make the expression equal to 0, we need to choose a value for \([?]\) that cancels out the -7 term. Therefore, the missing number is \textbf{7}.