Geometry- unit 2 readiness assesment

The difference of three and the reciprocal of a number is equal to the quotient of 20 and the number. find the number.

Me with this assignment ! i only partially understand, so explain. also it's a work sample. at the championship bike race, steve and paula were fighting for first place. steve was 175 feet ahead of paula and had only 300 feet left to go. he was very tired and was going only 9 feet per second. paula was desperate to catch up and was going 15 feet per second. who won the bike race and by how far did she/he win?

Astudent was asked to find the square of 7x+3. the student quickly wrote (7x+3)^3= 49x^2+9. identify the student's error and provide the correct answer.