7 less than 2 times a number is 18

Sure, let's solve this step by step:

1. First, let's translate the sentence into a mathematical equation. "7 less than 2 times a number is 18" can be written as "2x - 7 = 18", where x is the number we're trying to find.

2. Next, we'll isolate x by adding 7 to both sides of the equation. This gives us "2x = 25".

3. Finally, we'll solve for x by dividing both sides of the equation by 2. This gives us "x = 12.5".

So, the number is 12.5.