Answer
The number is $37$.
Work Step by Step
Let
$x$ = the unknown number
Then
"five times a number" means $5x$
"seven subtracted from five times a number" means $5x-7$
Thus, the equation that represents the situation is:
$5x-7=178$
Add $7$ on both sides of the equation to obtain:
$5x=185$
Divide $5$ on both sides of the equation to obtain:
$x=\dfrac{185}{5}
\\x=37$