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Linear equations
Linear equations are the easiest type of equation to solve
because the unknown is not raised to any power other than 1.
We can solve linear equations by rearrangement. We must
do the same operation on both sides of the equals sign.
For example:
Add 19 to both sides:
Example 2:
Divide both sides by 7:
2 of 6
x – 19 = – 8
x = 11
7x = 42
x=6
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Linear equations
When more than one operation is
performed on the unknown we need
to solve the equation in several steps.
For example,
subtract 5 from both sides:
divide both sides by 4:
4x + 5 = 29
4x = 24
x=6
Check that 4 × 6 + 5 is equal to
29 in the original equation.
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Equations with unknowns on both sides
In some cases the unknown appears
on both sides of the equals sign.
For example:
8x – 2 = 2x + 1
We need to work systematically to
get the unknowns on the left and
the numbers on the right.
Remember to perform the same operations on both sides.
unknowns
add 2 to both sides:
subtract 2x from both sides:
divide both sides by 6:
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numbers
8x – 2 = 2x + 1
8x = 2x + 3
6x = 3
x = 0.5
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Equation solving 3
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Scales
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