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    MC Simplelinear 20090 1

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    Nics Garcia
    This document provides examples of solving simple linear equations in one variable through algebraic operations. It explains that the key is to isolate the variable on one side of the equation by performing the same operations to both sides. This preserves the balance of the equation. Several examples are worked through, such as 3x + 15 = x + 25, showing the step-by-step process of subtracting, dividing, etc. to arrive at the solution. The document also addresses solving equations with fractions by clearing denominators. Exercises with solutions are provided at the end.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    MC Simplelinear 20090 1

    Uploaded by

    Nics Garcia
    23 views2 pages
    This document provides examples of solving simple linear equations in one variable through algebraic operations. It explains that the key is to isolate the variable on one side of the equation by performing the same operations to both sides. This preserves the balance of the equation. Several examples are worked through, such as 3x + 15 = x + 25, showing the step-by-step process of subtracting, dividing, etc. to arrive at the solution. The document also addresses solving equations with fractions by clearing denominators. Exercises with solutions are provided at the end.

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    mc-simplelinear-20090-1

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    This document provides examples of solving simple linear equations in one variable through algebraic operations. It explains that the key is to isolate the variable on one side of the equation by performing the same operations to both sides. This preserves the balance of the equation. Several examples are worked through, such as 3x + 15 = x + 25, showing the step-by-step process of subtracting, dividing, etc. to arrive at the solution. The document also addresses solving equations with fractions by clearing denominators. Exercises with solutions are provided at the end.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    23 views2 pages

    MC Simplelinear 20090 1

    Uploaded by

    Nics Garcia
    This document provides examples of solving simple linear equations in one variable through algebraic operations. It explains that the key is to isolate the variable on one side of the equation by performing the same operations to both sides. This preserves the balance of the equation. Several examples are worked through, such as 3x + 15 = x + 25, showing the step-by-step process of subtracting, dividing, etc. to arrive at the solution. The document also addresses solving equations with fractions by clearing denominators. Exercises with solutions are provided at the end.

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    of 2

    Simple linear equations

    mc-simplelinear-2009-1
    In this leaflet we look at the solution of simple linear equations in one variable - this means there
    will be no√x2 terms and no terms involving higher powers of x. There will be no functions of x such
    as sin x, x. For example, we will see how to solve the equation 3x + 15 = x + 25. To solve such
    an equation means to find a value for x which makes the left- and right-hand sides equal.

    Example
    Suppose we wish to solve the equation

    3x + 15 = x + 25

    The important thing to remember about any equation is that the equals sign represents a balance.
    What an equals sign says is that what’s on the left-hand side is exactly the same as what’s on the
    right-hand side. So, if we do anything to one side of the equation we have to do it to the other
    side. If we do this, the balance is preserved. The first step in solving this equation is to perform
    operations on both sides so that terms involving x appear on one side only, usually the left. We can
    subtract x from each side, because this will remove it entirely from the right, and give

    2x + 15 = 25

    We can subtract 15 from both sides to give

    2x = 10

    and finally, by dividing both sides by 2 we obtain

    x=5

    So the solution of the equation is x = 5. This solution should be checked by substitution into
    the original equation in order to check that both sides are the same. If we do this, the left is
    3(5) + 15 = 30. The right is 5 + 25 = 30. So the left equals the right and the solution is correct.

    Example
    Suppose we wish to solve the equation 2x + 3 = 6 − (2x − 3).
    We first remove the brackets on the right to give

    2x + 3 = 6 − 2x + 3

    so that
    2x + 3 = 9 − 2x

    www.mathcentre.ac.uk 1 c mathcentre 2009



    This now has the same form as the equation in the first example. We can remove terms involving
    x from the right by adding 2x to each side.
    4x + 3 = 9
    Now subtract 3 from each side:
    4x = 6
    so that
    6
    x = ( by dividing both sides by 4)
    4
    3
    =
    2

    When solving an equation you may:

    • add or subtract the same quantity to/from each side


    • multiply or divide both sides by the same quantity
    • apply other operations to the whole of both sides, e.g. square root both sides

    Doing exactly the same to both sides preserves the balance in the original equation.

    Example
    Suppose we need to solve the equation
    4(x + 2) 5x
    = 7+
    5 13
    Here, the fractions are the cause of the difficulty. We try to remove them and work with whole
    numbers. Multiplying both sides by 5 and then by 13 will remove the fractions. This is equivalent
    to multiplying both sides by the lowest common denominator, which is 5 × 13 = 65.

    4(x + 2) 5x
    = 7+
    5 13
    4(x + 2) 5x
    65 × = 65 × 7 + 65 ×
    5 13
    13  4(x + 2) 5x
    65 ×
     = 65 × 7 ×
    +5 
    65
    5 
    13
    
    52(x + 2) = 455 + 25x

    This is a much more familiar form, like the earlier examples. You should complete the solution
    yourself to obtain x = 13.
    Exercises
    Solve each of the following equations:
    (a) 2 + 3x = 23 (b) 3x + 14 = 2x − 5 (c) 5(x − 4) = 2(x − 3) (d) 21 (x + 7) = 3x
    5
    + 9.
    Answers
    (a) x = 7 (b) x = −19 (c) x = 14/3 (d) x = −55.

    www.mathcentre.ac.uk 2 c mathcentre 2009

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