Equations

Solving Linear Equations

By: Misael Ramos

What is an Equation?

An equation  says that two things are equal. It will have an equals sign "="  like this:

That equation says: what is on the left (x + 2) is equal to what is on the right (6)

So an equation is like a statement "this equals that"

Steps for Solving Linear Equations

1) Remove any parentheses and combine like terms, if possible, on each side of the equation.

2) Clear any fractions by multiplying all terms on both sides by the LCD (least common denominator).

3) Group like terms on each side of the equal sign.

4) Isolate the "x term" (variable) on one side of the equation by adding or subtracting to combine like terms across the equal sign.

5) Divide or multiply both sides of the equation by the coefficient of the variable to solve for "x".

6) Check the solution by substituting your answer into the original equation wherever you have a variable. If the solution is correct, bothsides of the equation will be equal.

LINEAR EQUATIONS - Solve for x in the following equation.

Example 1:

Subtract 3x from both sides of the equation:

Add 6 to both sides of the equation:

Divide both sides by 2:

The answer is x = - 1 

Check the solution by substituting -1 in the original equation for x. If the left side of the equation equals the right side of the equation after the substitution, you have found the correct answer.

Left side: 5(-1) - 6 = - 11                  Right side: 3(-1) - 8 = - 11

Hopefully you learned how to solve equations!!!!!