SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS

Recall the following:

• A linear equation is a polynomial of degree 1.

• In order to solve for the unknown variable, you must isolate the variable.

• In the order of operations, multiplication and division are completed before addition and subtraction.

LINEAR EQUATION - Solve for x in the following equation.

Example 2:

Subtract 3 from both sides of the equation:

Divide both sides by 5:

The answer is x=4.

Check the solution by substituting 4 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.

• 5(4) + 3 = 23

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If you would like to work another example, click on Example.

If you would like to test yourself by working some problems similar to this example, click on Problem.

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