To solve the equation 7x - 5 = 16, we need to isolate the variable x.

First, we add 5 to both sides of the equation:

7x - 5 + 5 = 16 + 5

This simplifies to:

7x = 21

Next, we divide both sides of the equation by 7 to solve for x:

7x/7 = 21/7

This simplifies to:

x = 3

Therefore, the solution to the equation 7x - 5 = 16 is x = 3.