SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS

INTRO An equation is a statement indicating that two expressions are equal. In the case of a linear equation, it can be simplified into the form

ax = b where a and b are real numbers, with a 0 .

SOLVING A LINEAR EQUATION To solve a linear equation, you have to isolate for the variable by doing the following steps: Expand (if applicable) Group like terms (if applicable) Rearrange so that all terms with the variable in them are on one side of the equation while all the terms without the variable in them (i.e., just number terms) are on the other side (i.e. re-arrange into the form ax = b [to do this, you're just adding/subtracting terms from both sides] ) Divide by the coefficient of the variable to solve for the variable (i.e., once you've got ax = b , divide both sides by a to solve for x) _______________________________________________________________________ Example: Solve the equation 3 x 12 = 0 Solution:
3 x 12 = 0 3 x = 0 + 12 3 x = 12

x=4 _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Example: Solve the equation 3 x + 4 = 7 x 6 6 x

Solution:

3x + 4 = x 6 3x x = 6 4 2 x = 10 x = 5 _______________________________________________________________________