CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS All animals are equal, bul some animals are more equal shan others. ~ George Orwell CHAPTER TT One-Variable Linear Equations In Section 1.5 we described equations as mathematical “scales” that tell us that two expressions have the same value. We also saw various ways we can manipulat Unis chapter, we explore using these manipulations to solve one-variable linear equations. By “solving” heequation is true. The “one-variable” e equations to give other vahid equations. In. aneguation, we mean finding ali values of the variable for whic in “one-variable linear equation” means that only one variable appears in the equation, though it may appear multiple times. The “linear” means that the variable only appears as a constant times the first power of the variable. For example, the following are one-variable linear equations: B 4556 Jy =S43y 32.10 — Ma = 74-7 The following are not linear equations: be Vr vrs5=5 3.1 Solving Linear Equations I in this section we learn how to solve linear equations by isolating the variable in the equation. We do so by using many of the eq} a Problem 3.1: My sister has 8 fewer books than Ido. If she has 6 books, then how many books doT have? tion manipulations we learned in Section 1.5,3.4. SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS | (a). Use your understanding of numbers to find a value of x that makes the equation true. (b) Use the number line to find a value of x that makes the equation tre (¢) What number can be added to both ‘on the left side? jides of the equation to give an equation in which xis alone (4) Use the previous part to solve the equation Problem 3.3: Solve the following equations: (a) x4+7=-19 () -5.142=17-32424+63 fb) x-23=68 [Problem 3.4: My sister has three times as many friends as Ido. She has 15 friends, so how many) friends do I have? j Problem 3.5: Consider the equation 3x (a) Use your understanding of numbers to find a value of x that makes the equation true. (b)_ By what number can we divide both sides of the equation to give an equation in which vis alone on the left side? ()_Use the previous part to solve the equation, Problem 3.6; Solve the following equations: (a) 4r=20 @ fewer books than I do. IF has 6 books, then how many boo! Solution for Problem 3.1 Since my sister has 3 fewer books than [ have, | must have 3 more books than she does. She has 6 books, so i have 6 +3 = 9 books.9 You might be wondering what this problem has to do with Jinear equations. The problem describes a simple linear equation. It we let the number of books [ have be x, then my sister has x ~ 3 books because she has 3 fewer books than I do. But we also know that she has 6 books. Since x ~ 3.and 6 both describe the number of books my sister has, they must be equal There are a number of ways to solve this simple linear equation Ex)CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS Solution for Problem 3.2: We present three different solutions. Inspection. The equation means that 3 less than x equals 6. Since 6 is 3 less than x, x must be 3 more than 6. Therefore, x equals 9 Number Live. If we consider the number line, the equation r~ 3 of, 6 tells us that 6 is 3 steps to the left ly a --l0-9 8 7 6 5-4 -3-2-10 1 23 4 5 678 9 tL ‘This means that x is 3 steps to the right of 6, so x is 9 Algebra, ‘To solve the equation, we manipulate it until it reads x = (some number). ‘Therefore, we must get x alone on one side of the equation, To do so, we eliminate the ~3 on the left side by adding 3 to both sides of the equation The solution to the equation x ~ 3 = 6 is therefore x = 9. We can check our answer by plugging our solution back in tothe original equation: 9 ~ 3 = 6. This equation is true, so our solution works. Pethaps you noticed that each of our three solution approaches comes down to the same key step, adding, 3 lo 6 to get our answer. The first uses words, the second uses pictures, the third uses aigebra While logic and pictures are sometimes helpful in solving equations, aigebraic manipulations are by Jar the most generally useful tools to solve equations, Try using algebra to salve the following equations, Solution for Problem 3.3: (a) We can isolate the x by subtracting 7 from both sides of the equation: w3.4, SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS | ‘The solution to.x+7 = -19is x= (b) We isolate x by adding 22 to both sides: x-2%- 6! 42h = 428 x = 9 This example shows how algebra can help keep our work organized and simple, If we take logic or picture approach, the fractions might lead to confusion if we're not careful, The algebraic approach makes it very clear how to find the answer. (6) Westart by simplifying both sides of the equation, The left side is simply 5.1 4 2= -3.1, On the right side, we combine all the constants 7-324 v4+63= 44 (17-32 +63) = 24201 Now our equation is “31544201, ‘To solve, we isolate x by subtracting 20.1 from both sides: -31= 34201 -2.1= ~ 201 “32x Addition and subtraction are not the only tools we can use to solve linear equations. Solution for Problem 3.4: Since she has 3 times as many friends as I have, we can find how many friends Thave by dividing her 15 friends into 3 equal groups, Since 15/3 = 5, we see that [ have just § friends, 1 Just as with Problem 3.1, this example describes a simple linear equation, If we let the number of friends I have be x, then my sister has 3x friends because she has 3 times as many as T do. We also know she has 15 friends, so 3x and 15 must be equal: 3y = 15 étCHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS Solution for Probie 3.5: We can again simply reason our way to the solution, We seek the number that, when multiplied by 3, gives us 15. Since 15 = 3 x 5, the number we are looking for is 5. ‘To use algebra to find x, we divide both sides of the equation by 3. This leaves x alone on the left: Since 3x/3 = vand 15/3 = 5, we have x = 5.5 In this solution we used division to change the coefficient of ¥ from 3 10 1. We could also have viewed! this as multiplying both sides of the equation by the ree: procal of the coefficient of x, oF 1/3. Solution for Problems 3.6 (a) We isolate x by dividing, both sides of the equation by 4 4x 20 ar) Since 4y/4 = v and 20/4 = 5, we have x = 5.as our solution (b)_ We divicle both sides by 3 to find 2 = -8/3. (6) We divide both sides by ~2 to get ~15/2 = y. So, our solution is y = 15/2. (d) We multiply both sides by 9 to find that a = (2/3)(9) = 6 fe} We wish to get rid of the coefficient of r, so we multiply by the reciprocal of the coefficient 5\/ 2r § es 2 GIG) Make sure you see why we must multiply by ~, not just §. On the left we have only remaining, since (~§)(-2) = 1. Therefore, we find9.2. SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS Ii = ~ 3.4.1. Solve each of the following equations (a) x-7514 () 34y=7-45 (b) 19-3=24r (d) $-3=}+x 3.41.2. Solve each of the following equations: 3.1.3 Find vit ~ Hints: 54 B14 Find rif 3(r—5) = 24 3.15% Find @ ify =3isa solution to the equation x/a = 7. Hints: 48 3.2. Solving Linear Equations II In this section, we combine the addition/subtraction and multiplication/ivision techniques from the previous section to tackle more complicated linear equationsCHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS [Problem 3.9: Solve the following equations: fa) 31+9=-13 (0) 8-3¥=-6+2r aes re ee ee ) 5-F=19 (@) 2-y+10+5 =3y~5 +29 (a) Find all values of z that satisfy 2243-4 = 32-5~2z, Problem 3.10: | (b)_ Find all values of r that satisfy 37-45 +r=7r~2+7-3n Problem 3.11: The equations 2x +7 = 3 and by 10 (a) Whats the value of x? (b)_ What is the value of #2 (Source: AMC 10) “Zhave the same solution x. ‘| In the last section, we used addition and subtraction on some problems, then used multiplication and division on others, In solving most linear equations, however, we'll have to use & combination of these tactics. Problem 3. 5B. Solve the equation 7r Solution for Problem 3.7; This equation doesn’t look exactly like any of the equations we already know how tosolve, However, if we think of the whole 7r as our unknown, we see that we know how to isolate 7r. All we have to do is add 8 to both sides: 7 63 Now we have an equation we know how to solve! We divide both sides by 7 to tind r = 9, We can check ‘our work by substituting this value for r back into our original equation, We find that (9) 8 our answer works Important: When solving an equation, we can check our answer by substituting it Y__ back into the original equation. If the original equation is not satisfied by our answer, then we made a mistake, We didn’t have to do the addition first when we solved this equation. We could have divided first a3.2, SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS II we have We then add 5 to bath sides of this equation to get r= 2 + 3 $ Once again, our goal in solving linear equations isto isolate the variable. Sometimes this will take several steps, and it doesn’t matter in what order you perform the steps. OF the two solutions above, ost people prefer the first, because we like avoiding fractions when we can ‘The initial equation in Problem 3.7 is not exactly like any of the equations we solved in the previous section. However, we were still able to selve it with the same tools. = 9, as before. See if you can apply this strategy to the following problem. Solution for Problem 3.8: Our tirst step is to simplify both sides of the equation, By grouping like terms, the left side equals B76 +2 = (Bt +28 4-7 — 6) = 514 (-13) = 54-13, The right side equals E426 = (Af 61) +2 = -26+2 ‘Therefore, our simplified equation is 5t-13 = -2r+2, We haven't tackled any linear equations in which the variable appears on both sides. We know how to handle a linear equation if the variable only appears on one side, s0 we add 2! to bath sides to eliminate the variable from the right side: Now we have an equation we know how to solve! We add 13 to both sides to get 7 = 15, then we divide both sides by 7 to find # = 15/7. 01CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS [Important: To solve a linear equation with one variable, we isolate the variable by| QD __ ioltowing afew simple steps: 1. Simplify both sides of the equation by combining like terms on each side BI-7-642t=4t+2-6f becomes — 5f- 13 =2t+2. 2, Move all the terms with the variable to one side and all the con- stants to the other using addition and subtraction St-13=-2+2 becomes 7 = 15. 3. After simplifying the equation that results from the previous step, multiply by the reciprocal of the variable’s coefficient to solve for the variable, Tt=15 becomes t= = | DO NOT MEMORIZE THESE STEPS! Understand them, so they'll be obvious to you when you need them. Here's a little practice. Problem 3.9: Solve the fallowing equations: (a) 3t+9=-13 {) 8-3r=-6+2x en = Ved ) 5-Z=19 (a) 2-y+10+5 =3y-5+2y Solution for Problem 3.9 (a) Subtracting 9 from both sides gives 3¢ = -22. We then solve for by dividing both sides by 3: b= 22/3. (b)_ First, we isolate the term with y in it by subtracting 5 from both sides. This gives us We then solve for y by multiplying both sid you see why we multiply by ~7 instead of 7. es by ~7, which gives y = (-7)(14) = -98. Make sure (c) We move the 2y to the left by subtracting 2x from both sides: 8-3r = 6 42x -2 2x S-5r=-6 Now we can simplify further by subtracting 8 from each side, yielding a3.2, SOLVING LINEAR EQUATIONS I Finally, we divide by -5 (or multiply by 1/5) to get x = 14/5 (d)_ First we simplify both sides. On the left, we have x 2-y4l4 5 = (Feet = gen, On the right, we have 7 Sy 5 + 2y = By +2y) ‘Therefore, our equation is We could continue by adding $ to both sides, then adding, 3 to both sides, but we can insiead avoid working with the fractions altogether by multiplying both sides of the equation by 6. This will get rid of all the fractions: o(-L12) (50-2) Expanding both sides gives 6(12) = Guy +6(-2) Simplifying this gives us By +72 = ay — 14 No more fractions! Now we add 3y to both sides -3y +72 = 30y— 1 +3y = -3y 72= 3y- 4 Next, we add [4 to both sides to get 86 = 33y. Finally, we divide both sides by 33 to find y = 86/33. (Our last example above showed another way to simplify working with equations: So far, all the equations we have solved have had exactly one solution, This isn’t always the case!CHAPTER 3, ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS Solution for Problew 3.10. {a} We first simplify both sides, which gives us Ub-oh! What happened to the 2’s? They alll cancel. Worse yet, we are left with an equation that can clearly never be true, since ~5 cannot ever equal =I! Since the equation -1 = -5 can never be true, we know that the original equation can never be true, either, (Tey it for a few values of z; you should find that the left side is always 4 higher than the right, so the two can never be equal.) We conclude that there are no solutions to the original equation. (b) Once again, we simplify both sides of the equation, which gives ariSear45 Since both sides of the equation simplify to the same expression, we see that the equation is always true! No matter what value ofr we choose, the equation will alwaysbe true, Therefore, all possible values of r satisfy the given equation. We sce now that some linear equations have no sohutions, and others have infinitely many solutions Solution for Problem 3.11: We can find the x that satisfies both equations because we can solve the first equation for x. Subtracting 7 from both sides of 2x +7 = 3 gives 2x = —4. Dividing by 2 then gives x= —2. This value of x must satisfy the other equation. So, when we substitute x = ~2 into hx ~ 10 = -2, we must have a true equation. This substitution gives 2h 10 = 2. Now that we havea linear equation for b, we can find b, Adding 10 to both sides gives -2b = 8. Dividing, by -2 then gives b = ~4. 0 B3.3. WORD PROBLEMS __—=_- = —— 3.2.1. Solve each of the following equations: (a) 3x-4=17 fe) -27u + 1u-5=3- 140 tb) 4-2r=1745r () 3-2y45=8-17y (9) 4423y=1.7y-20 (g) -3r+7)=53-7) Bot uo7_x-2 (@) 2455-2 o A-tF 3.2.2. Tommy solved the equation 3x ~7 = 1/2 +9 and found x = 5, He then shakes his head and starts over, How did he know so quickly that he made a mistake? 3.2.3 Por what value of a does the equation 3y +24 = dy +7 —y+3 have infinitely many solutions for y? 3.2.44 Joan can’t quite read the board in her math class. She writes down the equation she reads on the board as 3x ~ 7 = 38. She correctly solves the equation she wrote down, bul is surprised to hear the teacher say the answer is 6 less than the answer she found, When she asks the teacher to check her work, the teacher says that Joan copied the coefficient of x incorrectly (but copied everything else correctly), What should the coefficient of x have been? 3.3. Word Problems In life, most math problems are not initially handed to us as equations to solve. They are given to us in words, which we must then convert to equations, Often, figuring out which equation to solve is the hardest part of the problem,CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS Problem 3.13: Each sack of apples at the Farmer's Market has the same number of apples. Seven apples are needed to make one of Mama’s Excellent Apple Pies. 1 use three sacks plus two extra apples to make five Excellent Apple Pies. | (a) Let.rbe the number of apples ina sack. Use the information in the problem to write an equation. (b) How many apples are in each sack? Problem 3.14 age now? Tam now three years younger than twice what my age was six years ago. What is my Problem 3.15: Al gets the disease algebritis and must take one green pill and one pink pill each day for two weeks. A green pill costs $1 more than a pink pill, and Al's pills cost a total of $546 for the two weeks. How much does one green pill cost? (Source: AMC 10) As we have seen, solving one-variable linear equations is not too hard. Indeed, we can easily s errors. The far more important program a computer to solve them, and computers won't make carele skill is being able to loak at a problem and figure out what equation needs to be solved to get the answer. ind over until we get it right; fortunately, ‘n, we turn the phrases Solution for Prob We could try approas uessing a number ove: cf algebra gives us am We start by letting our mumber be x. Th of the problem into mathematical expressions: in Words In Math, hree less than two times anumber 2x —3 Four times the number plus eight dy The problem tells us that these two quantities are equal, so we have an equation: Subtracting 2v from both sides gives us 3 = 2x +8, Subtracting S from both sides gives as —11 = 2v Finally, we divide by ? to find ~11/2= x. Our number is -11/2, or 54 We can check our answer by seeing if our number fits the problem. Three less than two times our number is 3=-14. Four times the number plus eight is Yep, our answer works! (And notice that il is a tough answer to guess!) 5 703.3. WORD PROBLEMS: “Concept: Check your answer when you finish a word problem by making sure your | Qe ss solution fits the problem, — Our first sample word problem consisted of sinyply rewriting an equation as a sentence about “a number.” In most word problems, the sentences are a little tougher to tum into equations, Problem 3.13: Each Sack of apples at the Farmer's Market has the same number of apples. Seven| apples are needed to make one of Mama's Excellent Apple Pies, I use three sacks plus two extra apples to make five Excellent Apple Pies. How many apples are in each sack? Solution for Problem 3.13: We could keep guessing how many apples are in each sack until we find a number that satisfies the problem. However, an algebraic approach will get us the right answer more reliably. We want to find how many apples are in each sack, so we let «be the number of apples in each sack Concept: Assigna variable to be the quantity you seek, Then, try to build an equation Q==2 tosolve for that variable. ee = When making five pies, | use three sacks, plus two apples. Since there are + apples in each sack, | use 3 +2 apples to make five pies, Since each pie needs seven apples, i need 5x7 = 35 apples to make five pies, Now I have my equation Bx +2= 25. Subtracting two from both sides gives 3x = 33, and dividing by 3 yields x = 11. There are 11 apples in each sack. Once again, we can check our answer quickly. Three sacks of 11 apples each plus two extra apples is 3 x 11 +2 = 35 apples. With 35 apples we can make 35/7 = 5 Excellent Apple Pies, as required by the problem. 0 WARNING! You won't see every answer checked in this text as we've done for “s our first few word problems. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check | your answers! {Rest assured, we checked the answers many times, even if we didn’t write about it) Problem 3.14: Tam now three years younger than twice what my age was six years ago. What is ge NOW? | Solution for Problem: 3.14: What's wrong with this solution | Bogus Solution: Let my age be x, Twice my age is 2x. Since am now three years og younger than this, my age now must be 2x ~ 3. My age now is x, s0 we must have 2x3. | Subtracting 2x from both sides gives -x = ~3, s0.x = 3. Therefore, J) am now 3 years old. |CHAPTER 3. ONE- VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS This isan example of how checking your answer helps catch a mistake. [n the problem, my age must be three years younger than twice my age six years ago. If I'm 3 years old now, then six years ago my age was 3. Clearly something went wrong! What went wrong is that we used the same variable to mean two different things. Specifically, we used x to mean both my age now and my age six years ago. That's a big no-no! So, we let x be my age now. Six years ago, my age was x6. Twice my age six years ago is 26 ~ 6}. 1 ‘am now three years younger than this quantity, so my age now must be 2(x ~ 6) ~ 3. Since my age now is also x, we have an equation: x= 2(r-6)-3, We first note that 2(x ~ 6) = 2y ~ 2(6} = 2y ~ 12, so our equation is ys2v-12-3 Simplifying the right side gives x = 2x ~ 15, Subtracting 2x from both sides gives —x = -15, sox = 15. 1 am 15 years old now. Six years ago, Iwas 9. Double this is 18 years old, which is three years older than my age now, as required. Solution for Problem 3.15: We seek the cost ofa green pill, so we let xbe the price of a green pill. ‘Therefore, the price of a pink pill is x + |. Fach day we buy one of each pill, for a total cost of + (x + 1) = 2x 1 Two weeks is 14 days, so the total cost of the pills is 14(2x + 1). We are told that this total cost is 546 dollars, so we have an equation: 14Qv + 1) = 546 We could multiply out the left side. Instead, we divide both sides of the equation by 14, which gives 2x +1 =39. Subtracting | from each side gives 2v = 38, so x = 19. One green pill costs $19. ©3.3. WORD PROBLEMS ‘A mastery of algebraic manipulation can help with computation, too. For SS _ cxample, in the last problem, to divide 546 by 14, we might nole that 546 + 14 = 560. Fans of American football will quickly note that 56 (8 | touchdowns) is divisible by 14 (2 touchdowns), 50 560/14 = 40, Therefore, | we can compute 546/14 as follows: 546 _ 560-14 _ 560 14 Tar irr cae man op cae | Here, we have used the distributive property to avoid long division. Wie like avoiding long division! | We finish this section where we started: [Concept The Key to solving word problems is converting the words into the lan- | OFS guage of mathematics. [SURES > 3.3.1. Three times a number is seven more than double the number. What is the number? 3.3.2. My brother is 4 times as old as Lam. Six years from now, he will be twice as old as iam. How old is my brother now? 3.3.3 Recall Captain Hook's clue to find his treasure: ber that is s divided by fw. ce ye to Get ye fo the pati tree at the middle of th n six times the number of paces to th Joe niore than sine sinus fifteen is added to four tin Feen miore thant the quotieat wh Th via number be equal fo the sunt when ti 1 of paces fo the treasure, Dig ye only once, for if ye dig in the wrong spot, the te disappene. How many paces should you take? 3.34 Bocephus has a bag full of nickels and dimes. If there are 3 times as many dimes as nickels, and he has $36.05 in his bag, how many nickels does he have? e the result What would 3.3.5. Cindy was asked by her teacher to subtract 3 from a certain number and then div ! by 9. Instead, she subtracted 9 and then divided the result by 3, giving an answer of een had she worked the problem correctly? (Source: AMC 10) her answer have 6 At the end of 1994 Walter was half as old as his grandmother. The sum of the years in which they were born is 3838. How old will Walter be at the end of 19997 (Source: AHSME) Hints: 19 Extra! What we know is not much. What we do not know is immense. —— ~ Pierre-Simon de LaplaceCHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS 3.44 Linear Equations in Disguise Not all equations are as complicated as they seem. In this section, we explore equations that lock more complicated than one-variable linear equations, but which are only one small step away from being simple linear equations. If you have a hard time with this section, come back to it after you have worked through more of the book Problem 3.16; In this problem we solve for x in the equation 3. yz ~ 2 = 30— Vu (a) Let y= vi. Write the equation 3 yi ~ 2 = 30 ~ y¥ in terms of y instead of x. {b) Solve the equation in the previous part for y. (c)_ Use your value of y to find x. Problem 3.17: In this problem we find xif 2 ar x x We will find two different approaches to solving the problems (a) Approach I: Notice that the two terms with x in them have the same denominator. What could ‘we multiply both sides by in order to get rid of those annoying denominators? (>) Multiply both sides of the original equation by your answer to part (a) and solve the resulting equation | (© Approach 2: What expression could we subtract from both sides ofthe original equation in order tovliminate the 2 term from the right side? | (d) Subtract your answer to past (¢) from both sides and solve the resulting equation by isolating the term with x in Problem 3.18: Solve the following equations (a) V2e#1-542V2r41 5-14 (0) 2vF+13 = yF=9- vi 2 2 Some equations can be olved by viewing them as linear equations in disguis 30- vi. Problem 3.1 of x that s, Find all valu ation 3 vr y the e Solution for Problem 3.16: We'll find two different solutions. low 1: Substitution, We're not sure what to do about that YT term. Lo make the equation Look a litle simpler, we can let y= vit. Then, if we find y, we have a match simpler equation to find x. Our 73.4%. LINEAR EQUATIONS IN DISGUISE substitution turns the equation into By-2=30-y. This is just a linear equation that we already know how to solve! We add y to both sides, then add 2 to both sides, yielding Ay = 32, Now we divide by 4 to get y = 8. However, we have to find x. We put our value for y into y = yx and we have 8 = yf. We can soive this by noting that 64 has a square root of 8, or we can square both sides of the equation: Since (vk) = x, we find that our solution is x = 64 We can check our solution by letting x = 64.in the original equation. On the left, we have 3 V64 — 2 = 3(8) ~ 2 = 22, and on the right we have 30 - Voi = 30-8 = 22, So, x = 64 does satisfy the original ‘equiation, Concept: Much of understanding and applying algebra requires recognizing general O==2 forms. It’s easy to see that 3y-2=30-y 3yr-2=30- yr can also be treated like a linear equation, The expression we solve for first in this equation is y¥, rather than just a variable. After we find yx, we can easily find x. Substitution is a powerful tool that helps us recognize forms. By, substituting a simple variable y for the more complex expression yx, ‘we can see how to use our linear equation solving techniques to solve 3vx-2=30- vi. is a linear equation. The next step is to understand that an equation like | Once we are able to recognize forms well, we can skip the substitution step: Solution 2: isolate ¥X. Just as we isolate the variable to soive a linear equation, we can isolate Vi. Our first step is to get all the yi terms on one side by adding yi to both sides, Just as 3y + y = dy, we have BYE EVE = G+ 1) Vir = 4 VEE So, adding yx to both sides of the equation gives us 3 yi -2=30- ye ae +e 4yr-2-30 Adding 2 to both sides gives 4 yx = 32, We isolate yx by dividing both sides by 4, which gives yi = 8. Squaring both sides then gives v = 64, as before. | 75CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS Here's another non-linear equation we can solve using our linear equation techniques 2. Problem 3. Solve the equation Solution for Problem 3.17: Again, we present two solutions, Solution 1: Get rid of the fractions first. We don’t like fractions, so we get rid of them. Multiplying, both sides of the equation by x will cancel the x’s in the denominators of our fractions: Expanding both sides gives s0 our equation now is3-2 ~ 7r+2. This is a linear equation! We add 2x to both sides to get3 = 9x +2 Subtracting 2 from both sides gives 1 = 9x. Therefore, x ~ 1/9. WARNING! Whenever you solve an equation that has variables in denominatoss,| “ you must check to make sure your solutions do not make any of those| denominators 0. ‘We check our answer, and it works because 3 19 This solution approach is essentially the same as finding a common denominator on both sides (in this case, x) and setting the numerators of the resulting two sides equal. Solution 2: Get rid of the fractions last. We can combine the two terms with x in them by subtracting 2 from both sides Adding 2 to both sides gives ! = 9. We take the reciprocal of both sides to find x = 1/9. (Notice that “taking the reciprocal of doth sides” is the same as multiplying both sides by x, then dividing both sides by A) Now that you've mastered linear equations in disguise, try these. 763.4%. LINEAR EQUATIONS IN DISGUISE Solution for Problem 3.18 fa) &) Since our cube roots are the cube reot of the same quantity, we can combine them. We have Woo +1 +2224 T= (1+ 2) V22 +1 = 3.022 +1, so simplifying the left side gives us 3V%—1-5--u4. Adding 5 to both sides gives 3 V22 + I = ~9, Dividing both sides by 3 gives V rid of the cube root by cubing both sides: (a) 3) Because ( V2E2T)" = 22+1, our equation now is22+1 = -27. Thisisa linear equation! Subtracting, | from both sides gives 22 ~ -28, and dividing by 2 gives os = ~ =14 ‘We start by simplifying both sides: Vit 13 =9- vr We then add _yF to both sides and subtract 13 from both sides to isolate YP: WPei3- 9- We +\F- 132-134 2yr “4 Dividing both sides by 2 yields. YF = -2, and squaring, both sides of this equation gives r = 4. As our last step, we substitute r = 4 in both sides of our original equation to check our answer. Leftside: 2yr413— r= 2Vi+13-Vi=2.2413-2515, Right side: 9- yr=9~V4=9-2=7. Uh-oh! These two numbers aren’t equal, so the origina! equation isn’t true when r = 4! What went wrong? What went wrong was squaring the equation yF = ~2. When we square this equation, we get r= 4, While -2 squared is indeed 4, the expression YF is defined to mean the positive number whose square is r. Specifically, V3 equals 2, not -2. The equation yi = —2 has no solutions. 77CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS © We call a solution we fine upon simplifying an equation an extraneous solution if it does not satisfy the original equation. The answer = 4 we found in working this problem isan extraneous sohution to the equation yr +13 = 9 ~ yF, and is not a valic solution to the original equation, Our initial equation is x 2.2 y-1 37-1 We don’t like fractions, so we could multiply both of the equations first by 3 and then by x~ 1. However, before doing so, we see that the denominators of the two terms with x in them are the same. So, we can combine them by subtracting = from both sides: x xi" * 1 Now we can get rid of the fractions by multiplying both sides by 3(x ~ 1): x w=) () ==) C 3) The 3's on the left cancel, leaving 20° 1). The (x ~ 1)'s on the right cancel, leaving 3(2 ~ x) Therefore, our equation now is x1) = 32x), A linear equation! Expanding both sides, we have 2x ~ 2 ~ 6— 3x. Adding 3x to both sides gives Sr-2=6. Adding 2 to both sides yields 5x = 8, so our solution is x = 8/5. Our original equation has variables in denominators, so we have to check and make sure our solution doesn't make any of these denominators equal to 0, Since x— 1 is not 0 when x = 8/5, our solution 35 not extraneous, We could also have used cross-multiplication 1o get from the equation to the equation 2r- 1) = 32-9) It you don’t remember cross-multiplication, go back to Problem 1.13 and review it, Make sure you see how this is essentially the same as multiplying both sides of the equation by 3(x ~ 1) B3.5. SUMMARY Notice that we could have used substitution in our first two problems to better see the linear equations. For example, letting y= V2: + I turns Vie#1-542V2e+1--18 into we get 205 are 52h Now we have two variables, instead of one. Asa challenging Exercise, you'll have a chance to finish the probiem from here. 341 Find xif? ¥ 34.2 Find rif v2r= v2r-6, 3.4.3. The denominator of a fraction is 7 less than 3 times the numerator. If the fraction is equivalent to 2/5, what is the numerator of the fraction? 344° Pind 2if 1242 5 2_ 2 2 34.5% Atthe end of the section, we let r= += Sy tometer 2 =2r While at first we may seem stuck because we have two variables instead of one, we can still use this substitution to solve the problem! 1 (a) Solve the equation r = have + equal to an expre: for x in terms of r. In other words, manipulate the equation until you ion with rs in it, but no x's, (b) Substitute this expression for vin the equation xr + 2 = 2r. Do you have a linear equation now? Solve that equation for r, Use your value of r to find ¥, 3.5 Summary In this chapter, we learned how to solve one-variable linear equations, By “solving” an equation, we mean finding all values of the variable for which the equation is true. The “one-variable” in “one variable linear equation” means that only one variable appears in the equation, though it may appear multiple times. The “linear” means that the variable only appears as a constant times the first power of the variable 73CHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS Important: To solve a linear equation with one variable, we isolate the variable by 7 __ollowing a few simple steps 1. Simplify both sides of the equation by combining like terms on each side, | 3t-7-642t=4t42-6f becomes 5-1 242, 2. Move all the terms with the variable to one side and all the con- stants to the other using addition and subtraction, St-13=-2+2 becomes 71 = 15. 3. After simplifying the equation that results from the previous step, multiply by the reciprocal of the variable's coefficient to solve for the variable. 7215 becomes DO NOT MEMORIZE THESE STEPS! Understand them, so they'll be ‘obvious to you when you need them. Important: When solving an equation, we can check our answer by substituting it] Vv back into the original equation. If the original equation is not satisfied by our answer, then we made a mistake Important: Ifa linear equation can be manipulated into an equation that isnever true Vv (such as — ), then there are no solutions to the equation. Similarly, if linear equation can be manipulated into an equation that is always true (such as 4r +5 = 4y + 5), then all possible values of the variable are solutions to the original equation, We can often solve word problems by turning them into linear equations. Important: The Key to solving word problems is converting the words into the Y__ language of mathematics, To do so, assign a variable tobe the quantity 1 seek, Then, try to build an equation to solve for that variable. | ‘WARNINGI When Solving a Ward problem dating our variables Gesaly and uae *t"_them exactly as you've defined them, a03.5. SUMMARY Much of understanding and applying algebra requires recognizing general forms. The equation 30 - Vr SV can be treated like a linear equation. The expression we solve for first in this equation is yf, rather than a variable. After we find V¥, we can easily find ¥ Substitution is a powerful tool that helps us recognize forms. By substituting a simple variable y for r 0 ~ yf, we have 3y ~ 2 = 30 ~ y. We can now use our to find x the more complex expression V¥ in 3 Vr 2= linear equation techniques to find y, then use y Equations in which a variable ay 4 radical are often solved by raising the equation to the appropriate power. However, wher we do so, we must be careful, for sometimes the resulting equation e original equation, We call such a solution an extraneous solution has. solution that does not satisfy WARNING! If you raise an equation to an even power, you must check your os olution at the end to make sure it isn’t an extraneous solution! Problem Solving Strategies Concepts: © Much of this book is about using, algebraic methods to solve equa Oo- tions. However, do not lose track of what equations mean! Basic logic and pictures are very important tools that can help us understand, and solve equations © Isolate, isolate, isolate. The key to solving many equations is to get the variable alone on one side of the equation. * There are often many ways to tackle a problem. When you have inuitiple paths to a solution, first try the one that looks most likely to work easily, # When solving an equation that isn’t exactly like an equation you have ved before, try to manipulate it into a form you already know how to deal with, # If you don’t like dealing with fractions, you can eliminate fractions from a linear equation by multiplying both sides of the equation by the least common denominator of the fractions in the equation, * Check your answer when you finish a word problem by making sure your solution fits the problem. | Extra! The discooery in 1846 of the planet Neptune rons a dramatic and spectacular achievement of ‘een mathematical astronomy. The very existence of this new member of the solar system, and its exact ocation, were demonstrated with pencil and paper; there was left to observers ony the routine Jask of pointing their felescopes af the spot the mathematicians had marked, —James Newman aCHAPTER 3. ONE-VARIABLE LINEAR EQUATIONS | EEE 3.19 Try to solve each of the following equations in your head, then check your work by working the problems with paper and pencil fa) 6=2+7 (©) 15#3'-5-2F= 8-4 re: yo 3r22r- @) 4-74 Gs-3-4 (a) 2 3.20. Solve each of the following equations without a calculator: fa) 5h 238 (©) -yi2+y-2y=-21 (bh) 24 =-25x @ 3.21. Solve each of the following equations . 9-2y y+? (@) 32-55-22 415 © ee. 8-2y (b) y-384 Lvs 424210404 ) 3- St = 2y-9 3.22. I'm thinking of a number, My number is 5 more than one-half my number, What is my number? 323 Kyle is taking the SAT. He is asked to solve the equation 5+ 10 = 5 +24 The question is multiple-choice, with the following options for answers: Al 2 O83 Os (HS How does Kyle know the correct answer is (C) without solving the equation or testing the five choices? 3.24 A bag containing some widgets weighs 81 kg. When 2 of the widgets are removed, the weight of the bag of widgets drops to 73 kg. The bag weighs | kg when empty, How many widgets are left in the bag? 3.25. Six years ago, [ was half as old as I will be four years from now. How old will Tbe five years from now? 3.26 Find all values of 2 such that 2 45> S 4. 3.27 Find all values of x such that _ + & 3.28 Members of the Rockham Soccer League buy socks and T-shirts. Socks cost $4 per pair and each ‘Tshirt costs $5 more than a pair of socks. Each member needs 2 pairs of socks and 2 Fshirts. IF the total cost for the socks and ‘T-shirts is $2366, how many members are in the league? (Source: AMC 12) 3.29 Three plus the reciprocal of @ number equals 7 divided by that number, What is the number? 3.30. Five years ago, my grandiaiher was five times as old as I was. Three years from now, my. grandfather will be three times as old as I will be. How old am I now? aCHALLENGE PROBLEMS 3.31 Five consecutive integers are added. The resulting sum is 6 more than the greatest of the five integers. What was the smallest of the five integers? 3.32. For what value of Bis x = 3a solution to the equation bx? + 3x — 2b = 0? -d2 3.33 What values of 2 satisfy the equation 4-2 z 3.34 For what values of z does see Tez rezezte fortis ST > 335 Find rif3r 4 r= 27 43r—2r 3.36 Find yit (J+ YTOp-2=4. Hints: 204 4 337 Find al vas of ysuch that 5 ow 3.38 Stan has an equal positive number of quarters, dimes, and nickels in his bag, The total amount of money Stan has in his bag, isa whole number of dollars. What is the smallest amount of money Stan could have? Hints: 44 3.39 (a) Let x be the middle integer of three consecutive integers. What is the sum of these three integers in terms of x? (b) The sum of 23 consecutive integers is 2523, What is the largest of the integers? Hints: 202 3.40 What values of z satisfy the equation 32? Hints: 30 341 After Lois picks a value for b, Clark must solve the equation Qe 7—y = 4y=2h—3x—3b, Clark uses Lois’s b, then tries to solve the equation by repeatedly guessing values of x until he guesses the right one. However, for every x he picks, the left side is always 3 more than the right side, What value of b did Lois give Clark? 3.42. Solve the equation; 12. Hints: 91 [3+¥t 3434 Find all values of that satisfy =3. Hints: 146 3 -AE View be ves i 34d* What values of x satisly SS * = SS ? (Source: UNCC} Hin 106, 221 Vivl-wW