CM9 12 5.3_5.

2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 389

Equations and
inequalities
Syllabus outcomes
PAS5.2.2 Solves linear and simple quadratic equations, solves linear inequalities and solves
simultaneous equations using graphical and analytical methods
WMS5.3.1 Asks questions that could be explored using mathematics in relation to
Stage 5.3 content
WMS5.3.2 Solves problems using a range of strategies, including deductive reasoning
WMS5.3.3 Uses and interprets formal definitions and generalisations when explaining
solutions and/or conjectures
WMS5.3.5 Links mathematical ideas and makes connections with, and generalisations
about, existing knowledge and understanding in relation to Stage 5.3 content

In this chapter you will learn to:

x x 2y  3 z3
nsolve linear equations such as
2

3
 5,
3
 2,
2
 6  1,
3r  1 2r  4
3(a  2)  2(a  5)  10, 3(2t  5)  2t  5 and




4 5

nsolve worded problems that result in equations

nexplore2 the number of solutions that satisfy simple quadratic equations of the
form x  c
2
nsolve simple quadratic equations of the form ax  c
nsolve equations arising from substitution into formulas
t4
nsolve inequalities such as 3x  1  9, 2(a  4)  24 and
5
 3
nsolve simultaneous equations using non-algebraic methods such as ‘guess and check’,
setting up tables of values and looking for patterns
nsolve linear simultaneous equations by finding the point of intersection of their graphs
nsolve simple linear simultaneous equations by using an analytical method
ngenerate simultaneous equations from simple worded problems
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 390

Simple linear equations

An equation is a mathematical statement that has a pronumeral (variable) and a sign of
equality. It must have two sides that are equal to each other. If the highest power of the
pronumeral is 1, the equation is a linear equation.
To solve an equation means to find the value of the pronumeral that makes the statement true.
You must perform mathematical operations that will leave the pronumeral alone on one side
of the equation. For example, to change 3x to x, divide by 3. However, you must perform the
same operation on both sides of the equation. To check your solution, substitute the value
into the left-hand side (LHS) and the right-hand side (RHS) of the equation and simplify both
sides. If they are equal, your solution is correct.

Examples
●
1 Solve: x
a x  5  16 b x39 c 4x  28 d

 9
2
a x  5  16 b x39 Always write
Subtract 5
x  5  5  16  5 from both x3393 every step.
x  11 sides. x  12
x
c 4x  28 d

 9
Sometimes you can ‘see’ 2
4x 28 the answer by inspection x






 2  9  2
4 4 without needing to perform 2
x7 mathematical operations, x  18
for example: Multiply both
x  5  16 sides by 2.
x  11
●
2 Solve:
5x
a 3x  5  4 b 2x  7  15 c

 10 d 4x  9  2x  21
4
a 3x  5  4 b 2x  7  15
A linear
3x  5  5  4  5 2x  7  7  15  7 Always check
equation has
3x  9 only one 2x  8 your answer by
substitution.
3x 9 solution. 2x 8









3 3 2 2
x3 x4

c 5x


 10 d 4x  9  2x  21
4
5x 2x  9  21


 4  10  4
4 2x  9  9  21  9
5x  40
The solution 2x  12 Collect like
5x 40 terms.




satisfies the 2x 12
5 5 equation.




x8 2 2
x6

390 C O N N E C T I O N S M A T H S 9 S T A G E 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.1

CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 391

E x e r c i s e 12A S I M P L E L I N E A R E Q U AT I O N S

■
1 Solve:
a x29 b x  5  14 c x  8  22
Try answering
d x37 e x  21  9 f x  4  15 the first few
g x  7  15 h x68 i x  1  12 questions quickly
j x  1  32 k x  4  19 l x57 by inspection.

■
2 Solve:
x x x x
a

 7 b

 9 c

 4 d

 9
2 3 5 4
x x
e

 6 f

 8 g 2x  10 h 3x  27
7 3
i 5x  35 j 3x  15 k 6x  24 l 7x  49

■
3 Find the value of the pronumeral:
a 3  x  17 b 3  p  12 c 8  a  20 d 6  m  14
e 3  y  10 f a  2.4  6.8 g 18  16  x h 7  a  49
i 5  m  10 j 5x2 k 12  a  36 l 3  x  14

■
4 Solve:
x m
3 

d

 8
1
a
3
x  4 b 3x  9 c
6 5
x x
e

 8 f 5x  20 g

 7 h 3x  12
7 2 x
i 2x  8 j 8  y  15 k 2x9 l 7 


2
■
5 Find the unknown value: 8m
a 2x  5  7 b 3x  8  4 c 5y  16  4 d

 12
5
x3 m
e

 4 f 18  2a  10 g

 18 h 5x  4  21
3 5
x3
i

 4 j 3x  1  20 k 6y  4  32 l 3k  1  29
6
■
6 Solve:
a x
a

 8 b 8p  5  19 c

 11 d 6a  2.4  8.4
9 2
a
e 8a  2.5  5.5 f

 7 g 5a  3  7 h 6x  5  7
11
x
i

 8 j 3a  6  18 k 8y  4  8 l 7y  5  16
8
■
7 Solve:
2x 3x 4x Perform the same
a

 8 b

 12 c

 10
operation on both sides.
5 2 3
d 3x  5  17 e 4x  5  21 f 8  3m  17
g 9y  8  26 h 5  2m  16 i 4p  3  17
3x 3x 4x
j

 16 k

 9 l

 4
2 4 5

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 391
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 392

■
8 Find the value of the pronumeral:
m
a 3x  3  12 b

 12 c 5x  9  26 d 7y  4  3
2
e 2x  8  14 f 9x  7  56 g 6t  5  31 h 5x  7  27
5m m
i 8x  3  29 j

 10 k

 7 l 2k  5  15
4 7
■
9 Solve by first collecting like terms:
a 3x  7  5x  12 b x  4  2x  3  20 c 14  3  y  5y
2 5
d 32  2m  m  3  4m e z z 1



7



7 f 3k  2  2k  3  14
g 18  8p  1  2p  3 h 16  n  24  3n  0 i 5x  3x  7  19
j 8x  3  5x  15 k 6x  12  3x  24

■
10 a Solve:
2x  3 2x


 11
i ii

 3  11
5 5
a Explain the difference between the two equations.

Equations with pronumerals on

both sides
To solve an equation that has pronumerals on both sides, take all the pronumerals to one side
and all the numerals to the other side, then simplify. Remember to perform the same operation
on both sides so that the equation remains balanced.

Examples
●
1 Solve:
a 3m  7  2m  5 b 14x  28  32  6x

a 3m  7  2m  5 b 14x  28  32  6x
3m  7  7  2m  5  7 14x  28  28  32  6x  28
3m  2m  12 14x  60  6x
3m  2m  2m  12  2m 14x  6x  60  6x  6x
m  12 20x  60
20x 60





20 20
Take the
x3
pronumerals to
one side and the
numerals to the
other side. Then simplify.

392 C O N N E C T I O N S M A T H S 9 S T A G E 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.1

CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 393

●
2 Find the value of the pronumeral:
a 6t  4  5  3t b 4x  1  2x  11x

a 6t  4  5  3t b 4x  1  2x  11x
6t  4  4  5  3t  4 2x  1  11x
6t  9  3t 2x  1  2x  11x  2x
6t  3t  9  3t  3t 1  9x
9t  9 9x 1
9t 9








9 9
9 9 As you gain 1
experience, you will x  9



t1
be able to solve
equations without
writing all the
coloured steps.

E x e r c i s e 12B E Q U AT I O N S W I T H P R O N U M E R A L S O N B O T H S I D E S

■
1 Solve:
a 5m  2m  6 b 10x  2  6x c 5x  2  3x  8
d 3x  7  1  x e 9x  7  8x  9 f 6x  5  4x  7
g 4x  5  2x  17 h 7a  10  5a  12 i 8y  2  6y  14
j 5x  32  3x k 9x  7  5x  9 l 6m  9m  27

■
2 Find the unknown value:
a 20x  7  10x  13 b 3x  11  2x  5
c 9x  11  5x  21 d 15x  14  10x  16 Always check
your answer by
e 5a  18  2a f 7x  3  6x  7 substituting it in the
g 5x  8  4x  9 h 9x  14  2x original equation.
i 9  10m  10  9m j 4x  3  3x  4
k 5m  6  3m l 10x  3  7x  24

■
3 Solve:
a 6x  1  4x  7 b 5a  8  3a  84 c 5m  12  m  4
d 33x  64  x e 11x  90  x f 7x  x  18
g 7x  11  5x  19 h 4y  11  3y  16 i 5  t  4  2t
j 16  3m  m  4 k 5x  3  9  2x l 8n  5  n  23

■
4 Solve:
a 7t  7  5t  5 b 5a  8  3a  8 c 10x  11  5x  19
d 8a  10  9a  4 e 3x  7  x  19 f 5  3x  9  x
g 8x  20  6x  6 h 5y  9  3y  17 i 6x  8  4x  2
j 9x  5  4x  10 k 6t  3  2t  17 l 8x  6  4x  14

■
5 Find by substitution whether or not the value of the pronumeral given in brackets
is correct:
a 7x  6  6x  5 (x  11) b 3x  4  2x  1 (x  5)
c 4t  3  2t  5 (t  4) d 2y  3  y  4 (y  1)

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 393
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 394

e 6x  9  3x  6 (x  2) f 8x  7  7x  5 (x  12)
g 5t  3  2t  12 (t  5) h 4x  5  2x  9 (x  7)
i 4x  2  2x  6 (x  3) j 5x  6  3x  2 (x  4)
k 6x  3  5x  3 (x  6) l 9x  1  7x  5 (x  3)

■
6 Solve:
a 6  5y  10  3y b 6x  1  4x  9x c 6  3t  5  2t
d 18  3y  10y  5 e 8  3x  6x  7 f 5  6t  t  9
g 5x  3  8x  6 h 2y  5  4y  21 i 7m  3  4m  12
j 6t  5  19  3t k 7t  7  11  9t l 3x  27  4x  18

■
7 Find the value of the pronumeral:
a 5x  4  8x  11 b 15  3y  6y  3 c 12  3x  5x  10
d 8  3x  9  2x e 6x  15  4x  23 f 3a  9  a  7
g 7t  10  6t  12 h 8a  18  4a  2 i 8x  4  6x  10
j 3m  9  5m  9 k 3y  6  6y  15 l 4a  11  9a  9

■
8 Solve:
a 5x  9  6x  3 b 3m  10  36  m c 8x  3  2x  21
d 10a  7  5a  8 e x  32  9x  8 f 3x  14  x  2
g 5x  13  5  4x h 8a  14  6a  48 i 8m  15  7m  6
j 2y  7  y  8 k 9x  7  x  4x  31 l 10y  13  1  4y

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CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 395

Equations with grouping symbols

To solve an equation that has grouping symbols:
Step 1 Expand the expressions with grouping symbols.
Step 2 Simplify by collecting like terms if possible.
Step 3 Perform mathematical operations so that all the pronumerals are on one side and all
the numerals are on the other side.
Step 4 Simplify and solve the equation.

Examples
●
1 Solve:
a 2(p  1)  8 b 5(2x  3)  45 Always remove the
grouping symbols first.
a 2(p  1)  8 b 5(2x  3)  45
2p  2  8 10x  15  45
2p  8  2 10x  45  15
2p  6 10x  30
6 30
p 
2
x 
1
0
p3 x3

●
2 Solve:
a 6(x  3)  4(x  2) b 4(x  5)  x  15  0 Always write
every step.
a 6(x  3)  4(x  2) b 4(x  5)  x  15  0
6x  18  4x  8 4x  20  x  15  0
6x  4x  8  18 5x  35  0
2x  26 5x  35
26 35
x 
2
x 
5

x  13 x  7

E x e r c i s e 12C E Q U AT I O N S W I T H G R O U P I N G S Y M B O L S

■
1 Expand the expression with grouping symbols and then solve the equation:
a 3(x  2)  6 b 4(a  1)  8 c 5(m  2)  35
d 5(4a  3)  15a e 3(m  4)  36 f 5(a  5)  45
g 3(2x  3)  45 h 5(m  2)  3m  16 i 3(2x  4)  18
j 7(x  4)  42 k 5(x  1)  25 l 3(m  3)  12

■
2 Solve:
a 4(x  1)  12 b 6(3x  1)  12 c 5(a  4)  4(a  3)
d 2(a  3)  9 e 8(x  3)  7(x  1) f 4(x  8)  2x  10  0
g 7(x  6)  6(x  3) h 3(x  5)  18 i 6(x  3)  4(x  2)
j 4(x  5)  3x  9 k 4(x  2)  48 l 3(4a  2)  5(4a  2)

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 395
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 396

■
3 Solve:
a 6(x  7)  4x  8 b 9  6x  2(2x  1) c 5(8  2m)  100
d 3(2x  7)  8x  5 e 3(x  4)  2x  5 f 7(x  1)  8x  5
g 3(2x  1)  5x  7 h 3(3  2x)  33 i 6(2y  1)  8y  18
j 8(t  1)  7(t  1) k 3(m  5)  2(m  3) l 2(4x  3)  7x  6

■
4 Find the value of the pronumeral:
a 5(t  1)  20 b 8(m  2)  24 c 7(x  2)  21
d 4(3  2x)  9(2  x) e 5(t  4)  t  4 f 6(y  3)  12y
g 3(2x  5)  5x  23 h 4(x  2)  16 i 3(x  2)  15
j 2(m  3)  m  9 k 4(a  5)  36 l 2(2p  1)  18

■
5 Solve:
a 6(3a  2)  5(2a  9) b 4(3x  1)  10x  18 c 6(p  2)  48
d 5(3  2x)  45 e 9(n  3)  n  3 f 3(x  7)  6x  9
g 3(4m  6)  4(2m  1) h 2(x  4)  10 i 8(y  5)  7y
j 3(x  2)  2x  24 k 5(3a  1)  2(2a  1) l 9(x  1)  27  3x

■
6 Solve:
a 7(x  2)  5x  4 b 4(2  x)  4x  32 c 8m  7(m  5)
d 3(y  3)  27 e 2(x  3)  3x  11 f 7(x  2)  4(2x  3)
g 5(x  10)  x  6 h 6(n  3)  2n  8 i 7x  4(2x  5)
j 5(a  4)  4(a  3) k 6(x  5)  5(x  7) l 3(m  2)  m  12

■
7 Solve:
a 4(x  6)  2x  32 b 5(5a  3)  4(4a  1) c 4(y  3)  3(y  1)
d 2(a  1)  a  9  12 e 5(a  4)  4a  11  20 f 3(5a  7)  1  14a
g 3(a  7)  2(a  8) h 9(2a  3)  8(3a  2) i 8(2a  7)  5(3a  2)
j 9(3a  4)  13(2a  1) k 9  2x  5(x  3) l 6(2a  1)  5(3a  4)

■
8 Expand the expressions with grouping symbols, simplify and then solve:
a 8(2t  5)  4(3t  8) b 5  2(a  1)  3(a  2)
c 7(t  2)  5(t  3) d 4(3x  1)  2(3x  1)
e 4(a  3)  3(a  2) f 7m  (6m  9)  5
g 4(a  1)  a  5  19 h 5(x  2)  4(x  1)
i 5(m  3)  4(m  2) j 5(m  1)  4(m  3)
k 3x  2(x  1)  3(x  2)  8 l 3(y  2)  2(y  1)

■
9 Remove the grouping symbols and then solve:
a 2(x  1)  12 b 6(x  1)  18
c 4(3x  1)  9x  8 d 8(x  3)  7(x  1)
e 9  3x  2(x  7) f 4(m  6)  3(m  2)
g 6(t  3)  5(t  1) h 4(2a  3)  7(a  1)

■
10 Solve:
a 5(a  3)  a  2  8 b 3(x  2)  2x  4
c 3(x  1)  2(x  1)  6 d 8(t  3)  2t  16
e 4(a  3)  2(a  1)  16 f 7(3y  2)  5(y  1)  3
g 3(2x  1)  2(x  1)  17 h 3(m  4)  2(m  3)  10

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Equations with one fraction

To solve an equation involving one fraction:
Step 1 Multiply each term on both sides of the equation by the denominator.
Step 2 Simplify and solve the equation.

Examples
●
1 Solve:
y 2x  9
a

 6  3 b

 5
5 3 Multiply both
y 2x  9 sides by the
a

 6  3 b

 5 denominator.
5 3
Multiply each term by 5: Multiply each term by 3:
y 2x  9



 6  5  3  5
5 3 

 5  3




5

3
y  30  15 2x  9  15
y  15  30 2x  15  9
y  45 2x  6
6 Always write
x 
2
every step.
x3
●
2 Solve:
m 5x
a

 m  8 b

 13  3x
7 6
m 5x
a

 m  8 b

 13  3x
7 6
Multiply each term by 7: Multiply each term by 6:
m 5x
7 

 m  7  8  7

6 

 13  6  3x  6




7

6
m  7m  56 5x  78  18x
8m  56 5x  18x  78
56
m 
8
13x  78
78
m7 x


13
x  6

E x e r c i s e 12D E Q U AT I O N S W I T H O N E F R A C T I O N

■
1 Solve:
a 2a x 1 a 1
a

 5 b

 9 c



d




7 3 3 4 5 7
y 4x 2a 3a
e

 2 f

 8 g

 7  15 h

 5
3 5 3 2
2x 5x a x5
i

 8 j

 10 k

 4 l

 7
7 2 3 3

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 397
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 398

■
2 Solve:
a2 5x 4m  5 m5
a

 8 b

 1  6 c

 12 d

 3
4 2 3 4
2a  3 3p  2 2p  3 5x  4
e

 7 f

 4 g

 9 h

 9
5 6 5 2
8x  2 x7 2x  5 3x
i

 2 j

 1 k

 8 l

 9  12
3 8 3 5
■
3 Solve:
6p  10 8p 5a  2 7a
a

 16 b

 3  9 c

 5 d

 1  15
2 12 3 4
a5 k2 x a9
e

 4 f

 8 g

 4  25 h

 5
3 5 6 2
y x5 5x 8x  3
i

 5  10 j

 3 k

 10 l

 6
3 7 7 4
■
4 Find the value of the pronumeral:
x 1 a 1 y 3 a
a



b



c



d

 1  7
4 8 3 6 7 4 5
3x 5y  5 m5 5x
e

 9 f

 15 g

 9 h

 1  6
5 2 2 6
4x 5x  6 3x 5a  3
i

 2  3 j

 2 k

 3 l

 12
5 2 7 2
■
5 Solve:
x p y a3
a

 1  7 b

 3  8 c

 6  11 d

 6
3 2 5 5
3m  5 2x  7 7x  2 5x  2
e

 10 f

 5 g

 5 h

 4
6 4 8 3
x x x x
i

 5  8 j

 8  15 k

 3  7 l

 3  x
6 3 5 5
■
6 Solve:
3x  9 a5 m 3x
a

 5 b

 a c

 m  8 d

 5  20
3 3 7 2
3x 9  8x 9  3x 5
e

 6  5 f

 9 g

 6 h

 10
7 7 6 x
18 4x 2 4x
i

 3 j

 3  10 k

 4 l

 4  3x
m 5 3x 5
■
7 Solve:
2x p3 2m a
a

 4  3x b

 10 c 8 

 6 d

 2  7
3 4 3 5
2x  1 3m 7  2x 3y
e

 7 f

 5  7 g

 2 h

 5  2y
3 4 3 4
5a  1 8a  3 7  3x 8  2x
i

 1 j

 5 k

 5 l

 8
3 4 2 5

398 C O N N E C T I O N S M A T H S 9 S T A G E 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.1

CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 399

■
8 Find the value of the pronumeral:
2x a  3 x 4m
a x 

 6 b

 6 c

 x  7 d

 5  m
5 5 5 3
5 4 3 1
e

 8 f

 5  12 g 9 

 6 h

 3
x 3a y 2x  3
5 x 3m 2y  3
i

 2 j

 x  4 k

 7  m l

 y
x1 5 5 7

Equations with more than one fraction

To solve an equation involving more than one fraction:
Step 1 Find the lowest common denominator (LCD). The lowest common
Step 2 Multiply each term on both sides of the equation by the LCD. denominator is also called
the lowest common
Step 3 Simplify and solve the equation. multiple (LCM) of the
denominators.

Examples
●
1 Solve:
y y 7x 9x
a



 1 b

 3 

 5
2 3 8 12
y y
a



 1 (LCD of 2 and 3  6)
2 3
Multiply both sides by the LCD, 6:
Multiply both sides
3 y 2 y by the LCD.
6 




6 

 6  1


2

3
3y  2y  6
y6

7x 9x
b

 3 

 5 (LCD of 8 and 12  24)
8 12
Multiply both sides by the LCD, 24:
3 7x 2 9x
24 

 24  3 


24 

 24  5


8

12
21x  72  18x  120
21x  18x  120  72
3x  48
48
x 
3

x  16

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 399
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 400

●
2 Solve:
x3 x7 p p 2 3 2
a



b





c




5 3 3 6 3 x 4x

x3 x7
a




5 3
Multiply both sides by the LCD, 15:
3 x3 5 x7


5


15 15 
3




3(x  3)  5(x  7)
3x  9  5x  35
3x  5x  35  9
2x  26
26
x 

2
x  13

p p 2
b






3 6 3
Multiply both sides by the LCD, 6:
2 p p 2 2


3


6 6 
6
 6


3





2p  p  4
3p  4
4
p 
3

1
p  1
3

3 2
c




x 4x
Multiply both sides by the LCD, x(4  x):
3 2
x(4  x) 
x
 x(4


 x) 



4
x
3(4  x)  2x
12  3x  2x
12  2x  3x
12  5x
12



5 x
2
x  2
5

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E x e r c i s e 12E E Q U AT I O N S W I T H M O R E T H A N O N E F R A C T I O N

■
1 Solve:
a a m m a a x x
a



 10 b



 8 c



 8 d



 5
2 3 3 5 4 6 3 6
x x 3 x x m m x x
e





f



 9 g



 7 h



 2
4 5 10 3 4 3 4 2 3
y y t t p p x x
i



 3 j



 3 k



 7 l



 9
4 5 3 4 2 4 5 6
■
2 Solve:
5p 2p y y 4 a a 2x x
a



 9 b





c



 30 d



 5
3 4 3 6 3 2 3 3 6
x x y 3y 3 2x 3x m m
e



 7 f





g



 11 h



 2
4 5 5 5 10 3 4 4 6
8x 2x x3 x2 2x  1 x1 x6 2x  4
i



 1 j



k



l




5 3 4 5 3 2 3 4
■
3 Find the value of the pronumeral:
5x 3x 7 5x 7x 4x 3x 7
a





b

 2 

 3 c






4 2 2 8 12 3 4 12
a7 a5 2m  9 3m  5 x x
d



e



f



 1
9 6 3 4 4 5
x x x3 x2 x 4x 3x
g



 6 h



i





 1
2 3 4 5 5 3 2
x x p p b5 b8
j



 4 k



 4 l




5 7 6 2 2 3

■
4 Solve:
t1 t4 2p p m m
a



b



 10 c



 1
3 2 3 5 8 3
x4 x9 x x 2x k1 k3
d



e





 3 f




3 5 2 3 5 6 4
x x 2x p2 p5 x1 x1
g





 2 h



 6 i



 7
3 6 3 3 8 2 3
x3 x2 5 9 7 1
j



 6 k



 1 l



 4
5 3 y 2y 3x 2x
Always check
■
5 Solve: your answer by
substituting it in
a 2a  3 1  2a 5a 5 3
a



 3 b



 a c



 4 the original
4 2 3 3 x 2x equation.
5x  3 x1 3x  1 x4 9 3
d



e



f

 2 


2 3 8 4 x x
5x  7 1 1 x3 x2
g

 6 h



 5 i




x 2x 3x 5 7
p3 p9 3x 4x 5 8x 3x
j



 8 k





l



 1
2 5 2 3 6 7 5

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 401
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■
6 Solve:
2m  7 5m  6 2t  1 t3 x2 x2
a



b



c



 6
3 7 4 5 5 5
x3 2x  3 x2 x2 x5 2x  5
d



e



f




5 3 3 2 3 5
x2 x1 p3 a1 a1
g



 3 h 3  p 

i



 2
3 2 6 3 5
4 1 3 5 4 2 2x  5 x
j





k





l




x 2x 2 3m m 15 9 3

■
7 Find the value of the pronumeral:
x3 x2 2x  1 x1 5x 1
a



b



c



 4
4 5 3 2 3 2
y3 2a  3 a1 5x x
d 1  y 

e



 2 f



 5
20 4 3 4 4
a 2a  5 x 3 2x x 2x 3
g

 1 

 7 h





i






3 2 2 8 3 7 5 7
3 1 a 2a  3
k





 1 

 4
1 1
j
2
(t  1) 
3
(t  2)  4 l
x1 x5 7 3

■
8 Solve:
3y  4 y3 8 2 5 3
a



 11 b

 4 

c




5 3 2x x 2x 7
x5 x3 6m m2 1 1
d



 1 e



 0 f




12 8 10 4 x2 2x  1
1 1 1 5x  3 5m  1 m
g





 1 h

 4 i




x 2x 3x x 6 3
3x  5 2x x7 4x  5
k








1 1
j

(x
3  2) 
2
(7  x) l
9 3 8 16

Using equations to solve worded

problems
Worded problems can generally be transformed into equations and then the equations can be
easily solved to find the unknowns. Follow these steps:
Step 1 Read the problem carefully.
Step 2 Determine what you are expected to find.
Step 3 Choose a pronumeral to represent the unknown quantity.
Step 4 Transform the worded problem to an equation.
Step 5 Solve the equation to find the answer.

402 C O N N E C T I O N S M A T H S 9 S T A G E 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.1

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Examples
Read the question
●
1 One more than twice a number is 23. Find the number. carefully and then
solve the problem.
Let the number be x.
2x  1  23
2x  23  1
2x  22
22
x 
2

x  11
Use x for the
The number is 11. unknown number.

●
2 A 48 m rope is cut into two pieces so that one piece is 8 m longer than
the other. Find the length of each piece.
Let the length of one piece be x. Then the length of the second piece is x  8.

x  (x  8)  48
2x  8  48
2x  48  8
2x  40
40
x 
2

x  20
The length of one piece is 20 m and the length of the other piece is 28 m.

●
3 Two cars leave the centre of the city at the same time. They travel in opposite
directions along a straight road, one at 60 km/h and the other at 80 km/h.
a How far apart are they after 1 h?
b How far apart are they after 5 h?

a The two cars travel in opposite directions. The distance between them is
the sum of the distances each has travelled. After 1 h the first car has
travelled 60 km and the second has travelled 80 km.

d  60  80
 140 distance
Speed 


After 1 h, they are 140 km apart. time

b After 5 h the distance between them is 5 times greater.

d  140  5
 700
After 5 h, they are 700 km apart.

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 403
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E x e r c i s e 12F U S I N G E Q U AT I O N S T O S O LV E W O R D E D P R O B L E M S

Write an equation for each of the following and then solve it to find the value of the pronumeral.

■
1 a When 7 is added to twice a certain number, the result is 15. Find the number.
b The sum of 3 consecutive numbers is 51. Find the largest number.
c Two girls have $27 between them. One has twice as much as the other. How much
does each girl have?
d The length of a rectangle is 3 times the width of the rectangle, and the perimeter is
64 cm. Find the width of the rectangle.
e In a triangle the angles are (x  9)°, 3x ° and (2x  3)°. Find the smallest angle.

■
2 a The angles of a quadrilateral are in the ratio 1 : 2 : 3 : 4. Find the size of each angle.
b In an isosceles triangle, each base angle is double the remaining angle. Find the size
of each angle.
c How must $59 be shared between Michael and Matthew so that Michael’s share is
$4 less than twice Matthew’s share?
2
d When 10 is subtracted from a certain number, we are left with
3
of the number.
Find the number.
e In a parallelogram each obtuse angle is (2x  3)° and each acute angle is (x  6)°.
Find x.

■
3 a 7 more than twice a number equals that number minus 5. Find the number.
b When 5 is subtracted from 3 times a number, the result equals the number
increased by 11. Find the number.
c 7 more than twice a number equals 3 less than 3 times that number. Find
this number.
d 4 times a number is subtracted from 35. The result equals 5 more than 6 times the
number. Find the number.
e The angle sum of a triangle is 180°. One angle of a triangle measures 40° more than
the smallest angle. The third angle measures twice as much as the smallest angle.
Find the sizes of the three angles.

■
4 a Simone is 3 years older than her sister Monique. The sum of
their ages is 31 years. Find their ages. Read the question
carefully, write an
b Alison’s mother was 32 years of age when Alison was born. equation and solve
She is now 3 times as old as Alison. What are their present ages? the problem.
c When Kristina was 8 years old, her father was 36. Now Kristina’s
father is twice as old as Kristina. How old is Kristina?
d John’s father is 48 years old. In 6 years time he will be 3 times as
old as John will be. How old is John now?
e Anna’s age is 3 times Nancy’s age. If Anna is 24 years older than
Nancy, what are their ages?

404 C O N N E C T I O N S M A T H S 9 S T A G E 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.1

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■
5 Find the value of each pronumeral. All length measurements are in centimetres.
a b c

12 x9

5x 2x  3 3m  2
Perimeter
74 cm Perimeter
49 cm Perimeter
100 cm

2a  5
d e f
5x ° 5(x  2)°

6 3(x  8)°
(2x  7)° (x  5)°

Area
66 cm2

g h i
(3m  16)° 68° (2y  1)°
73°
(2x  5)°
(4n  16)° (2x  4)° 61°

■
6 a The head of a fish is twice as long as its tail. Its tail is twice as long as its body.
Altogether the fish is 35 cm long. How long is each body part?
b A tank is half full. After emptying out 450 L, the tank is one-third full. What is the
capacity of the tank?
c Two cars left Sydney for Melbourne. The first car left at 1 pm and averaged
80 km/h. The second car left at 2 pm and averaged 90 km/h. At what time did the
two cars meet?
d A blend of coffee is made by mixing 5 kg of coffee A with 4 kg of coffee B.
Per kilogram, coffee B costs $4 more than coffee A. The total cost is $124. What is
the cost of each coffee component?
e Two hikers begin walking towards each other from an initial distance of 20 km
apart. Hiker P averages 4 km/h while hiker Q averages 6 km/h. When and where do
they meet?
f I have 50 coins, some 10c and the rest 20c. Altogether they total $8.20. How many of
each coin do I have?
4
g If the numerator and denominator of the fraction
9
are both increased by a certain
3
value, m, the fraction then becomes equal to
4
. Calculate this value.

■
7 a In a test there were 25 multiple-choice questions. They were marked as follows:
p 2 marks for each correct answer
p 0 marks for a non-attempt
p 1 mark for an incorrect answer.
4
Sarah attempted
5
of the questions and received 22 marks. How many questions did
she answer correctly?

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 405
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 406

b Fatima guessed the number of jellybeans in a jar but guessed 24 too many. Her
friend Craig guessed 16 too few. The average of their guesses is 192. How many
jellybeans are there in the jar?
c A rope is 3.3 m long and is cut into three pieces. One piece is twice the length of the
shortest piece. The other piece is 50 cm longer than the shortest piece. Calculate the
lengths of the three pieces in centimetres.
d A journey takes 70 min. Half the distance is travelled at an average speed of
80 km/h, while the remaining distance is covered at an average speed of 60 km/h.
How long is the journey?
e Photocopier A is twice as fast as photocopier B. When both machines operate
3
together, 810 pages are printed in
4
of an hour. Calculate the printing rate, in pages
per minute, for each photocopier.
1 1
f Jessie spent
5
of her money. She then spent
5
of the remainder. Altogether she
spent $72. How much did she have to start with?

Simple quadratic equations

An equation in which the highest power of the pronumeral is 2 is called a quadratic equation.
2 2
Quadratic equations are of the form x  c or ax  c, where a and c are constants.
A linear equation always has one solution, but a quadratic equation can have two solutions or
one solution or no solution.

Examples
●
1 Solve:
2 2
a x  49 b x  4
The square root of
2 2 a negative number
a x  49 b x  4
2 2 cannot be found.
x  ( 7) x 4


x 7 There is no solution.
The solutions are x  7 and x  7.

●
2 Solve:
2 2
a 3x  27 b 2x  3  0
2 2
a 3x  27 b 2x  3  0
2 27 2
x 
3
2x  3
2 2 3
x 9 x 
2

3 2
x  
2

2 2 2
x  ( 3)
x 3

2

3
x
The solutions are x  

3
The solutions are x  3

2
and x  

3
and x  3.

2.

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E x e r c i s e 12G S I M P L E Q U A D R AT I C E Q U AT I O N S

■
1 Solve:
2 2 2
a x 4 b x 1 c x 9
2 2 2
d x  25 e x  36 f x  64
2 2 2
g x  81  0 h x  100  0 i x  121  0
2 2 2
j x 5 k x  11 l x  17

■
2 Solve:
2 2 4 2
a x  45 b x 


25 c x 6
2 2 2
d x 80 e x  12  0 f y  15  0
2 4 2 2
g m 


9 0 h 3x  2  0 i 2x  70  0
2 2 2
j 9t  4  0 k 3x  27  0 l 2x  5  0

■
3 Solve:
2 2 2
a m  42  0 b 16x  9  0 c x  144  0
2 2 2
d 1a 0 e 25x  16  0 f 25  x  0
2 1 2 2 1
g x  6
4
 0 h 64x  25 i x  2
4
 0
2 2 2
j 25x  1  0 k 7x  7  0 l 16x  49

■
4 Solve:
2 2 2
a x  63 b x  3 c 3x  12
2 2 2
d 5x  55  0 e x 2 f 10  x  0
2 2 2
g 3x  36 h 2x  20 i 2x  8  0
2 2 2
j 3x  48  0 k x  14  0 l x  26  0

■
5 Find the value of the pronumeral:
2 2 2
a 4x  49  0 b 9x  25  0 c 16x  100  0
2 2 2
d 2x  10  0 e 5x  75 f 6a  216  0
2 2 2
g 3y  243  0 h 8x  32  0 i 16m  81  0
2 2 2
j x  19  0 k 3x  48  0 l 4x  49  0

■
6 Solve:
2 2 2
a 5a  35  0 b 7m  98  0 c 9y  49  0
2 2 2
d 6y  36  0 e 3x  18  0 f 7y  343  0
2 2 2
g 25a  36  0 h 49x  81  0 i 144x  25  0
2 2 2
j 64p  121  0 k 36x  9  0 l 25m  64  0

■
7 Calculate the value of the pronumeral correct to 2 decimal places:
2 2 2
a x 7 b m  45 c k  12  0
2 2 2
d 2p  25 e 3d  4  0 f 4(p  1)  27
5
g

2  3
2 2
h 14  d  3d  6
a

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 407
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Evaluating the subject of a formula

A formula is a special kind of equation. It shows a relationship between different quantities,
and so it has more than one pronumeral. The subject of a formula is always a single
pronumeral and is written on the left-hand side. The value of this subject can be found by
substituting the values for all the other pronumerals in the formula.

Examples
●
1
1 Given that A 
2
bh, find the value of A when b  8 and h  4.6.
1
A 
2
bh
1

2
 8  4.6
 18.4
Prn
●
2 Given that I 

, find I when P  500, r  8 and n  5.
100
Prn
I 


100
500  8  5



100
 200
n
●
3 Given that S 

(a  l ), find S when n  8, a  7 and l  123.
2
n
S 

(a  l )
2
8
Substitute the

2
(7  123) values first, then
 4(130) evaluate.
 520

E x e r c i s e 12H E VA L U AT I N G T H E S U B J E C T O F A F O R M U L A

■
1 Find the value of the pronumeral that is a capital letter:
1
a A 
2
bh when b  12 and h  10
b P  2(l  b) when l  16 and b  9
n
c S 

(a  l) when n  10, a  3 and l  161
2
d S  n(n  1) when n  18
abh
e V 

when a  6, b  10 and h  14
3
2
f A  l when l  10
g V  lbh when l  12, b  8 and h  6
h P  2(l  b) when l  18 and b  14

408 C O N N E C T I O N S M A T H S 9 S T A G E 5.3 / 5.2 / 5.1

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■
2 Find the value of the pronumeral that is a capital letter:
a C  πd when π  3.14 and d  16
b P  a  b  c when a  3, b  4 and c  5
c F  ma when m  11 and a  15
1 2
d E 
2
mv when m  8 and v  5
e V  u  at when u  12, a  8 and t  3
f C  2πr when π  3.14 and r  16
2 22
g A  πr when π 
7
and r  14
3
h V  l when l  9
1
i A 
2
h(a  b) when h  14, a  16 and b  20

■ 
a  b, find c when a  6 and b  8.
2 2
3 a Given that c 
n
b Given that S 

[2a  (n  1)d], find S when n  28, a  3 and d  6.
2
1 2
c Given the formula s  ut 
2
at , find s when u  10, t  3 and a  6.

b b   4
2
ac
d If x 

, what are the values of x when b  8, a  3.5 and c  2?
2a
M
e If D 

, what is the value of D when M  552 and V  24?
V
1 2 22
f If V  3 πr h, what is the value of V when r  7, h  12 and π 
7
?

n

g If S 

2a  (n  1)d , what is the value of S when a  5, n  38 and d  6?
2

■
4 Evaluate correct to 2 decimal places:
a A when A  l  b, given that l  20.1 and b  13.52
2
b V when V  πr h, given that r  3.4 and h  8.2
4 3
c V when V 
3
πr , given that r  6.52
2
d A when A  2πr  2πrh, given that r  4.3 and h  8.91
2
e A when A  4πr , given that r  5.38

■
5 a The volume of a rectangular prism is given by the formula V  lbh. Find the value
1 2
of V when l  8, b  2
4
and h  5
3
.
b The temperatures of a body in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) and degrees Celsius (°C) are
9C
related by the formula F 

 32. Find the value of F when C  42.
5
1
c The area of a rhombus is given by the formula A 
2
xy. Find A when x  12 and
y  15.
d Given that the formula for the circumference of a circle is C  2πr, find C when
r  8.5.
1 2
e The formula for the volume of a cone is V 
3
πr h. Find V when r  7 and h  12.
a
f Given that s 

, find s when a  3 and r  0.5.
1r
1 2
g If s  ut 
2
at , what is the value of s when u  7, a  8 and t  6.5?

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 409
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Equations arising from substitution

Whenever you are asked to find the value of a pronumeral other than the subject of a formula,
substitute all the given values, then solve the resulting equation.

Examples
Substitute, simplify,
●
1 Given that v  u  at, find u when v  36.8, a  3 and t  2. rearrange and solve.

v  u  at
36.8  u  3  2
36.8  u  6
36.8  6  u

u  30.8

●
1
2 If A 
2
h(a  b), what is the value of b when A  72.4, h  8 and a  5?
1
A 
2
h(a  b)
1
72.4 
2
 8(5  b)
72.4  4(5  b)
72.4  20  4b
72.4  20  4b
52.4  4b
52.4
b 
4


b  13.1

E x e r c i s e 12I E Q U AT I O N S A R I S I N G F R O M S U B S T I T U T I O N

■
1 a Given that A  lb, find the value of b when l  12 and A  96.
b Given that V  lbh, find h when V  1024, l  16 and b  8.
1
c If V 
3
Ah, what is the value of A when V  104 and h  8?
2
d Find the value of r correct to 2 decimal places using the formula A  4πr when
A  2700.
a
e If S 

, what is the value of a when S  84 and r 
3
?
1
1r

■
2 a Given that l  a  (n  1)d, find a when l  98, n  20 and d  5.
1 2
b Given that s  ut 
2
at , find u when s  288, t  6 and a  8.
Prt
c If I 

, what is the value of P when r  8, t  5 and I  4000?
10 0


l
d If T  2π

, what is the value of l when g  9.8 and T  16.8?
g
e If S  2πr(r  h), what is the value of h when S  527.79 and r  6?

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■
2 2
3 a If v  u  2as, what is the value of a when u  10.5, v  24.9 and s  6?
n
b If S 

(a  l ), what is the value of l when S  1287, n  33 and a  6?
2
d
c Given that s 

, find d when s  12 and t  8.
t Where
d Given that P  2l  2b, find b when P  118 and l  40.6. necessary, give
your answer
e Given that P  2l  2b, find the value of l when P  38.6 and b  5.3.
correct to
■
4 a If F  ma, what is the value of m when F  12.8 and a  4? 2 decimal places.
1 2
b Given that E 
2
mv , find the value of m when E  36.8 and v  8.
2
c If V  πr h, what is the value of h when V  48π and r  4?
2
d If A  4πr , what is the value of r when A  144π?
d
e Given that s 

, find d when s  38 and t  3.
t
■
5 a Given that y  mx  b, find m when y  28, b  4 and x  6.
1
b If A 
2
bh, what is the value of b when A  36 and h  9?
3
c If V  l , what is the value of l when V  64?
1
d Given that A 
2
h(a  b), find the value of h when A  54, a  5 and b  7.
e If l  r , what is the value of r when l  8.4 and  2.1?
a
■ Given that S 

, find a when S  28 and r 
2
.
1
6 a
1r
2
b If V  πr h, what is the value of h when r  4 and V  63.8?
4 3
c Given that V 
3
πr , find r when V  121.5π.
1
d If V 
3
Ah, what is the value of A when V  128 and h  12?
n
e Given that S 

(a  l ), find a when S  2595, n  30 and l  188.
2
■
7 a If C  πd, what is the value of d when C  1256 and π  3.14?
2 22
b If A  πr , what is the value of r when A  308 and π 
7
?
Prn
c Given that I 

, find r when I  2000, P  4000 and n  8.
100
2 2 2
d If c  a  b , what is the value of a when c  13 and b  5?
2 22
e Given that A  2πr  2πrh, find h when A  132, π 
7
and r  3.

■
5
8 a Given that C 
9
(F  32), find F when C  45.
2 2 22
b Given that A  π(R  r ), find R when A  66, π  and r  3.


7
2 2
c If v  u  2as, what is the value of s when u  90, v  130 and a  25?

 
r n
d If A  P 1 

, what is the value of P correct to 1 decimal place when
100
A  20 101.45, r  5 and n  6?


l
e If T  2π

, what is the value of l correct to 1 decimal place when T  22.7 and
g
g  9.8?

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 411
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Inequalities
An inequality (or inequation) is a statement that has a pronumeral and a sign of inequality. If
the highest power of the pronumeral is 1, the inequality is a linear inequality.
The commonly used inequality signs are:

 is less than We use inequalities in

everyday language, 5  4, 6
23
 4,
 is greater than 105 
for example

 4, 8.3  4 …
is less than or equal to ‘Mt Everest is taller
2

 is greater than or equal to than Mt Kosciusko’.

A linear inequality, unlike a linear equation, has more than one solution. For example, the
equation x  5  9 has one and only one solution (x  4). However, the inequality x  5  9
has an infinite number of solutions (x  4). Any number (including fractions and decimals)
that is greater than 4 is a solution of this inequality.

Solving inequalities
Inequalities are solved by performing inverse operations on both sides. For example, to solve
2x  10 we divide both sides by 2, because this is the inverse operation of multiplying by 2.
Now consider whether or not an inequality remains true when we add, subtract, multiply or
divide both sides by the same positive number.
For example: This is the same
39 method as for
p Add 3 to both sides: 6  12 (True) solving equations.
p Subtract 2 from both sides: 4  10 (True)
p Multiply both sides by 6: 24  60 (True)
p Divide both sides by 12: 25 (True)
In all these cases the inequality remains true and the direction means ‘is not
of the inequality sign stays the same. less than’.
means ‘is not
Now consider whether or not an inequality remains true when greater than’.
we multiply or divide both sides by the same negative number.
For example:
23 (True)

If we multiply or divide both
sides of an inequality by a
p Multiply both sides by 4: 8 12
However: 8  12 negative number, the inequality
remains true only if we also
p Divide both sides by 2: 4 6
reverse the inequality sign.
However: 46
We also need to reverse the inequality sign when the left-hand side and the right-hand side
are swapped. For example:
53
but 3  5

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Graphing inequalities
Solutions to inequalities are often graphed on number lines.

p This is the graph of the solution x  1:

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

p This is the graph of the solution x  1:

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

p This is the graph of the solution x  2:

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5
A hollow circle on a
p This is the graph of the solution x 2: number means that the
number is not included
in the solution.
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

p This is the graph of the solution 2  x 3:

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

p This is the graph of the solution x 2 and x  3: A solid circle on

a number means that
the number is included
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 in the solution.

Examples
●
1 Graph each inequality on a separate number line:
a x3 b 2 x4 c x 1 and x  5 An inequality has
an infinite number
a b of solutions.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

c
–2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

●
2 Solve each inequality and graph its solution on the number line:
a 2x  3  9 b 5  3x 14
Remember that the
a 2x  3  9 b 5  3x 14
inequality sign and the
2x  9  3 3x 14  5 arrow on the number
2x  12 3x 9 line point in the same
12 9 direction.
x 
2
x 

3
x6 x  3

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 413
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E x e r c i s e 12J INEQUALITIES

■
1 State the inequality that is graphed on each number line:

a b
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

c d
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

e f
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

g h
–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 –10–9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3

i j
–2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

■
2 Graph each inequality on a number line:
a x3 b x 4 c x2 d x5
e x  1 f x0 g x  1 and x  3 h x 3 and x  2
i x 2 j x5 k x  2 l x 1
m 1 x3 n 2  x 3 o 3x5 p 3 x 2

■
3 Solve each inequality and graph the solution on a number line:
a x29 b a13 c m36 d n8 15
e 8y 12 f 12  x  7 g m23 h m22
i 6y4 j 3 a2 k 5  x  3 l 7  y  8

■
4 Solve:
a 5x  25 b 3a 12 c 7y  21 d 6y  48
x y x y
e

 4 f

 2 g

 2 h

 1
2 3 7 4
x x x
i

 5 j 2 

k 5 

l 18  3x
2 3 3
■
5 Solve:
a 2x  5 b 3x 12 c 6p 18 d 5x  20
e 10  5x f 8  4x g x  7 h x  4
x y
k

 1

 2
1 1
i 
2
x  3 j 
3
x 1 l
3 5
■
6 Solve:
a x35 b y  8  10 c 5m3 d n52
e 16  p  7 f x99 g 2x  3  15 h 3p  2  10
i 7  5x  8 j 7  5m  22 k 3  m  5 l 5  2x  3

■
7 Solve:
a 37 11 b 6  a  2a  15 c 3x  4 2x  3 d 6x  14  20
e 4  3p 16 f 9  2m  25 g 8  2y 18 h 1  5p  16
i 3  2x  15 j 3  y  4 k 3  2p 9 l 19  2m  5

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CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 415

Inequalities with grouping symbols

and fractions
To solve an inequality that has grouping symbols or fractions, use the same methods as for
equations but remember to reverse the inequality sign when multiplying or dividing by a
negative number. Also reverse the inequality sign when you interchange the sides.

Examples
●
1 Solve each inequality and graph its solution on a number line:
a 2(x  1) 6 b 3(2  x)  21

a 2(x  1) 6 b 3(2  x)  21
2x  2 6 6  3x  21
2x 62 3x  21  6
2x 8 3x  15
8 15
x


2 x


3
x 4 x  5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 –10–9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0

When multiplying or
dividing by a negative x  5 and 5  x
number, reverse the mean the same thing.
sign of inequality.

●
2 Solve and graph:
a8 x x
a

2 b



 1
5 3 2
a8 x x
a

2 b



 1
5 3 2
a8 2  5 Multiply both sides by 6:
a8 10 2 x 3 x
10  8 6 

 6




 1  6
a

3

2
a 2 2x  3x  6
x  6
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4
x 6

–10–9 –8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 415
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 416

E x e r c i s e 12K INEQUALITIES WITH GROUPING SYMBOLS AND FRACTIONS

■
1 Solve:
a 2(x  3) 4 b 3(y  1)  6 c 5(p  4)  30
d 4(m  3)  36 e 3(2  3x)  12 f 3(x  7) 42
g 2(a  4)  18 h 2(5  x)  22 i 5(2x  5)  11x  3
j 3(2  x)  15 k 2(x  3) 10 l 2p  3(p  3) 8

■
2 Solve:
a x
a

 5  7 7 

 9
1
b

x
2 3 6 c
4 3
3x 3y a a
d

 20  x e

 6 f



 2
5 2 2 3
2x x 3t  1 5x
g



3 h

 1 i

 1
7 7 2 3
x a1 a m 2m
j 9  x 

k



 2 l

 2 


3 3 2 3 3
■
3 Solve and graph:
a 3  a  2(a  3) b 2(1  x)  3x c 2(1  y)  3
2x  4 3m  2 x3
d

 1 e 3

f

 2  1
5 3 4
2a
g 5

 7 h 4(m  2)  12 i 3y  2(1  y) 4
3
6a  12 y 3a  1 1  2a
j

 2 k 9 

12 l




3 2 5 3

■
4 Solve and graph:
3x 8 2y y a 2
a



b



c




5 15 2 4 3 3
x 1 x 3y 2y
d 5(t  2)  4(t  1)  8 e





f



 1
3 6 2 5 3
g 3(1  x) 6 h 5(4  3x)  50 i 2(5  2x) 22
5x x x x 2x
j

1 k



 1 l



 3
3 2 3 2 5

■
5 Write an inequality for each problem, and then solve it:
a Five times a certain number is always less than or equal to 30. What could the
number be?
b Norm weighs 90 kg and Julie weighs 78 kg. Cathie’s weight is between Norm’s and
Julie’s. Write an inequality for Cathie’s weight.
c If a certain integer is decreased by 4, the result is less than 15 but greater than 9.
Find all possible values for the integer.
d A certain number is halved, then increased by 3. The result lies between 5 and 7.
Between which two values does the number lie?

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e Our team scored 115 points in the last

5 football games. How many points must we
score in the next 5 games so our average
points per game is greater than 25?
f A rectangle has length 2y and width y  2.
Its perimeter is less than 50 cm. What are
possible values for y ?
g A taxi driver averages $15 per trip. He pays
$150 per day to the cab company to hire the
taxi. How many trips must he make in a day
to have at least $120 at the end of his shift?
(Ignore the cost of fuel.)
h Two sides of a triangle are 10 cm and 15 cm.
What is the range of possible lengths for the
third side?

Simultaneous equations
Most of the equations you have solved so far had only one pronumeral and therefore each
equation had only one solution. For example, the equation 2x  3  7 gives the solution x  5.
However, equations like x  y  3 and 2x  y  8 are linear equations containing two
pronumerals. A linear equation of this type has an infinite number of solutions and its graph
is always a straight line.
Whenever we are asked to solve a pair of linear equations (such as x  y  5 and x  y  3),
we try to find the values of x and y that will make both equations true. In doing this we have
solved the equations simultaneously.
For example, consider this pair of simultaneous equations:
xy5
xy3
They give the solution x  4 and y  1, as we can see that:
415
and 413
If you draw the graphs of the lines x  y  5 and x  y  3 on the same number plane, you
will see that they intersect at the point (4, 1).
Simultaneous equations can be solved by using non-algebraic methods such as guessing and
checking, setting up tables of values and looking for patterns. They can also be solved
graphically by finding the point of intersection of their graphs.
Also, algebraic methods such as the substitution method and the elimination method can be
used to solve simultaneous equations.

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 417
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Setting up tables of values and the

‘guess and check’ method
Examples
●
1 Solve the following simultaneous equations by setting up tables of values:
xy4
xy2
x
y4 xy2

x 0 1 2 3 4 x 0 1 2 3 4
y 4 3 2 1 0 y 2 1 0 1 2

From these tables, we can see that the common pair of values is (3, 1).
Therefore the solution is x  3 and y  1.

●
2 Solve the following pair of simultaneous equations by using the ‘guess and
check’ method:
2x  y  1
xy2

2x  y  11 xy2 
2

Try x  0 in equation 1 :
20y1
0y1
y1
Substitute the values x  0 and y  1 in equation 2 to check: 
xy2
012
1  2 False
The solution of the
This cannot be the solution.
simultaneous equations
Try x  1 in equation 1: satisfies both the
2x  y  1 equations.
21y1
2y1
y12
y  1
Substitute the values x  1 and y  1 in equation 2 to check: 
xy2
1  (1)  2
112
2  2 True

x  1 and y  1 is the solution.

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E x e r c i s e 12L S E T T I N G U P TA B L E S O F VA L U E S A N D T H E ‘ G U E S S A N D C H E C K ’ M E T H O D

■
1 State whether it is possible to find a single, unique solution to each problem. (Do not
solve them.)
a The difference between two numbers is 10. Find the numbers.
b Three times a number less than 5 equals twice the number plus 5.
c Two numbers add to 12 and multiply together to give 35. What are the two numbers?
d A cake and a drink costs $3.50, but 2 cakes and 3 drinks costs $8.50. Find the cost of
the cake.
e A cake and a drink costs $3.50, but 2 cakes and 2 drinks costs $7.00. Find the cost of
the cake.
f The product of two consecutive positive integers is 56. What are the integers?
g A pen costs twice as much as a pencil. Together they cost $3.60. Find the cost of
the pen.

■
2 Write down 3 pairs of integers for p and q that satisfy each equation:
a pq8 b 3p  q  15 c 2p  3q  100

■
3 Substitute the values given in parentheses to determine whether they satisfy each pair
of simultaneous equations:
a x  y  12 b 3x  2y  10
(7, 5) (4, –1)
xy2 2x  3y  11
c x  2y  –2 (3, 2) d 3x  y  2  0
(1, –5)
2x  y  7 3x  y  8  0

■
4 Find the value of each pronumeral by using the ‘guess and check’ approach:
a x  y  15 b a  b  12 c pq9
1
xy5 a  2b q 
2
p

■
5 Solve each pair of simultaneous equations by setting up tables of values:
a xy3 b 2x  y  2 c x  y  1
x  y  1 xy4 2x  y  1
For simple pairs
d xy3 e x  2y  2 f 2x  3y  12 of simultaneous
x  y  1 x  2y  6 x  3y  3 equations, you
can sometimes
g 3x  2y  8 h 2x  y  4 i xy2 find the solution
2x  5y  1 3x  y  1 xy6 by inspection.

j 2x  y  3 k 4x  y  8 l 2x  y  6
xy0 2x  y  4 2x  y  2

■
6 Solve each pair of simultaneous equations by using the ‘guess and check’ method:
a xy9 b 2x  y  7 c xy6 d 5x  y  5
x  y  5 xy2 2x  y  3 xy7
e x  y  3 f 2x  2y  10 g yx2 h xy7
xy1 3x  2y  0 2x  y  8 3x  y  5
i 5x  y  1 j 2x  y  7 k xy2 l 3x  y  6
8x  y  2 y  x  2 xy6 2x  y  4

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 419
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■
7 Use the ‘guess and check’ method to solve these problems:
a The sum of two numbers is 11 and their difference is 3. Find the numbers.
b The sum of two numbers is 25 and their difference is 7. Find the numbers.
c The difference between two numbers is 1 and the larger number plus twice the
smaller number is equal to 10. Find the numbers.
d The sum of two numbers is 15 and one of the numbers is twice the other. Find
the numbers.

■
8 The length of a rectangle is 3 cm more than its width. The perimeter of the rectangle is
38 cm. Use the ‘guess and check’ method to find the length and width of the rectangle.

■
9 In a class of 29 students there are 5 more girls than boys. Use the ‘guess and check’
method to find the number of boys and the number of girls in the class.

The graphical method

The graphical method of solving a pair of simultaneous equations involves these steps:
Step 1 Complete a table of values for each equation.
Step 2 Draw the graphs of both equations on the same number plane.
Step 3 From the graphs, find the point of intersection.
Step 4 Use the point of intersection to write the solution.
There are some disadvantages of using the graphical method to solve a pair of simultaneous
equations:
1 It is time consuming.
2 Sometimes it is difficult to draw and read the graphs accurately if the solution is not
in integers.
3 It is hard to plot large coordinates.
In spite of these disadvantages, the graphical method still is an important method and is an
extremely useful tool for solving simultaneous equations.

Example
Use the graphical method to solve this pair of simultaneous equations:
xy1
x  y  3
Step 1 x
y1 x  y  3

x 0 1 2 x 0 1 2
y 1 0 1 y 3 4 5

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Step 2 y
6
xy
1
The coordinates of
4 the point of
x  y
–3 intersection satisfy
(–1, 2) 2 both equations.

–4 –2 0 2 4 x
–2

Step 3 The point of intersection is (1, 2).

Step 4 The solution of the simultaneous equations is x  1 and y  2.
Check your solution (x  1, y  2) to make sure that it satisfies both
equations:
xy1 x  y  3
1  2  1 1  2  3
11 3  3
LHS  RHS LHS  RHS

E x e r c i s e 12M THE GRAPHICAL METHOD

■
1 Use the graph to find the solution to each pair of simultaneous equations:
a xy2 b 2x  y  2 x  y
–1 xy
1
Parallel lines do
not intersect.
xy4 xy4 y
4 x  2y
1
c xy3 d x  2y  1
x  y  1 xy4 2
e xy2 f xy1
xy3 xy4 –2 0 2 4 6 x
g xy1 h xy4 –2
2x  y  2 xy3 xy
4
xy
3
If simultaneous
–4
i 2x  y  2 j xy2 equations are
xy
2
x  2y  1 2x  y  2 xy
4 2x  y
2 parallel lines,
they have no
■
2 Use the graph in question 1 to find the approximate solution to each pair solution.
of simultaneous equations. Give your answers correct to 1 decimal place.
a xy3 b xy2 c x  2y  1 d xy4
xy4 xy1 xy3 xy1

■
3 Use the graphical method to solve:
a xy1 b xy3 c xy1 d 2x  y  5
xy3 x  y  5 2x  y  3 xy1
e 2x  y  1 f x  y  1 g yx5 h yx3
xy2 3x  y  5 y  3x  9 y  2x  5

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 421
CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 422

i yx1 j yx4 k y  x  2 l xy3

y  2x  3 y  3x  6 y  2x  7 2x  y  9

■
4 Solve using the graphical method:
a x  y  1 b xy0 c x  2y  3
2x  y  1 xy2 2x  y  0
d 2x  3y  1 e 2x  y  3 f x5
xy1 xy6 x  y  3

■
5 Show graphically that each pair of lines are parallel (that is, they have no simultaneous
solution):
a xy3 b yx2 c x  3y  4
x  y  1 2y  2x  8 x  3y  2

■
6 Sometimes the solutions of simultaneous y
y = 3x – 20
equations are not simple integers and so
graphical solutions are estimates. 50
y = x + 25

From this graph, estimate the solution to:

40
y  x  25
y  3x  20 30

Can you refine this method to find an even

better estimation? 20

10

0 10 20 30 x

■
7 Two bus companies charge the following y
for a school excursion: 700

Company A: a flat $5 per kilometre

600
travelled
Company B: $200 plus $3 per kilometre
500
travelled
a Write down equations representing the
Cost ($)

400
costs charged by each company. Company B
b The graph shows this relationship.
300
Over what distance would the charges
by each company be the same?
200
c Given that other factors (such as
comfort and availability) are the same,
100
when would you hire each company? Company A

0 50 100 150 x
Distance (km)

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CM9 12 5.3_5.2 Final 12/8/04 12:15 PM Page 423

The substitution method

The substitution method is an algebraic technique that gives the exact solution to a pair of
simultaneous equations. It involves these steps:
Step 1 Make one pronumeral the subject in one of the equations.
Step 2 Substitute the expression for this subject into the other equation.
Step 3 Solve this new equation to find the value of one pronumeral.
Step 4 Substitute this value into either of the original equations to find the value of the
second pronumeral.
Step 5 Write your answer, showing the values of both the pronumerals.

Examples
●
1 Use the substitution method to solve this pair of simultaneous equations:
xy8
2x  y  1
xy8 
1 2x  y  1 
2

Step 1 Make one pronumeral the subject:

xy8 1 
x8y
Step 2 
Substitute this value of x into equation 2 :
2x  y  1 Check your answer to
2(8  y)  y  1 make sure that it satisfies
both equations.
Step 3 Solve:
16  2y  y  1
16  3y  1
3y  1  16
3y  15
15
y 
3

y  5
Step 4 Substitute this value of y into one of the two original equations:
2x  y  1
2x  5  1
2x  1  5
2x  6
6
x 
2

x3
Step 5 The solution is x  3 and y  5.

C H A P T E R 1 2 E Q U AT I O N S A N D I N E Q U A L I T I E S 423
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●
2 Use the substitution method to solve:
xy3
3x  y  5
xy3 1  3x  y  5 
2
x3y
Substitute this value of x into equation 2 : 
3x  y  5
3(3  y)  y  5
9  3y  y  5
9  4y  5
4y  5  9
4y  4
4
y 

4
y1
Substitute this value of y into one of the original equations:
xy3
x13
x31
x2
The solution is x  2 and y  1.

E x e r c i s e 12N THE SUBSTITUTION METHOD

■
1 Use the substitution method to solve each pair of simultaneous equations:
a x  y  12 b 2m  n  8 c a  2b  1
x  y  10 3m  n  5 2a  b  17
d 2a  b  7 e m  2n  10 f xy6
ab4 mn1 2x  y  7
g 2x  3y  13 h xy6 i 2x  y  10
xy5 xy2 3x  y  5

■
2 Solve by using the method of substitution:
a x  y  1 b pq6 c 3x  4y  7
2x  y  5 2p  q  6 x  4y  5
d 3x  2y  9 e x3 f x  3y  15
x  2y  7 x  y  2 2x  y  2
g 5x  2y  11 h 2a  b  12 i m  3n  5
x  5y  13 ab3 m  2n  1

■
3 Solve by substitution:
a 2x  2y  78 b x  2y  3 c 2m  n  1
x  y  11 2x  y  1 5m  3n  1

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d 2x  y  11 e 2x  3y  1 f 3x  2y  8
2x  y  9 xy1 x  2y  8
g a  5b  10 h 5x  y  2 i 2x  3y  6
2a  b  9 4x  y  7 x  2y  10

■
4 Solve by substitution:
a x  3y  15 b x  2y  3 c 2x  9y  5
yx1 3x  2y  5 3x  3y  18
d y  2x  1 e 3x  4y  2 f x  y  10
yx4 7x  2y  12 xy8
g 5a  4b  18 h x  4y  21 i 2a  5b  13
3a  2b  2 x  y  12 4a  3b  5

■
5 Solve:
a 2x  3y  12 b a  2b  0 c 3m  n  3
4x  3y  6 3a  6b  12 5m  3n  19
d xy9 e 3x  2y  4 f 15m  2n  27
xy3 xy8 3m  7n  45
g 2x  y  6 h 2x  3y  2 i m  5n  10
x  y  3 x  2y  8 5m  n  24

W O R K I N G M AT H E M AT I C A L LY

Solving simultaneous equations

■
1 When there are 3 variables to be found, you need 3 equations to solve simultaneously.
Find the values of x, y and z in each set of simultaneous equations:
y z
a x  y  z  15 b x 



 23 c xyz5
2 3
y
y  2x  1

 3 xyz9
z
z
zy2

 2 x  y  z  3
y

■
2 Suppose x  y  39, x  z  19 and y  z  12.
a Calculate x  y  z. b Hence find the values of x, y and z.

■
3 Suppose xy  96, yz  180 and xz  120. Calculate the values of x, y and z.

■
4 a For this diagram, explain why:
2 2 2
11
a  b  20
2 2 2 20
a  (b  11)  13 13 a
b Solve these equations to find a and b.
b

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The elimination method

The elimination method is another algebraic technique that gives the exact solutions of
simultaneous equations. In this method, the aim is to eliminate one of the pronumerals so
that the value of the other pronumeral can be found. This can be easily done by adding or
subtracting the equations. Choose to add or subtract according to which operation will
eliminate one of the pronumerals. Follow these steps:
Step 1 Make sure that the two coefficients of one pronumeral are the same. If they are not,
multiply one equation by a number to make the coefficients the same.
Step 2 Eliminate one pronumeral by adding or subtracting the pair of equations.
Step 3 Solve this new equation to find the value of one pronumeral.
Step 4 Substitute this value into any one of the original equations to find the value of the
second pronumeral.
Step 5 Write your answer, showing the values of both the pronumerals.

Examples
●
1 Use the elimination method to solve this pair of simultaneous equations:
2x  y  7
3x  y  3
2x  y  7 
1
3x  y  3 
2

Step 1 The coefficients of y are the same (but opposite signs).

Step 2  
Add equations 1 and 2 :
When the coefficients of one
2x  y  7 
1 pronumeral are the same (but
3x  y  3  2 opposite signs), add
_____________ to eliminate the
5x  10 pronumeral.
Step 3 Solve this equation:
5x  10
10
x 
5

x2
Step 4 Substitute this value of x to find the value of y :
2x  y  7 1 
22y7
4y7
y74
y3
Step 5 The solution is x  2 and y  3.

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●
2 Use the elimination method to solve:
xy1
3x  2y  3
xy1 1 
3x  2y  3 
2
Step 1 
Make the coefficients of x the same by multiplying equation 1 by 3:
3x  3y  3  3
Step 2 
Subtract equation 2 from equation 3 :  When the coefficients of one
3x  3y  3 
pronumeral are the same and
3
have the same sign, subtract to
3x  2y  3 2 eliminate the pronumeral.
_____________
5y  0
Step 3 Solve this equation:
5y  0
y0
Step 4 Substitute this value of y to find the value of x:
xy1 
1
x01
x1 Sometimes you will need to
multiply both equations by a
Step 5 The solution is x  1 and y  0. constant to make the coefficients
of one pronumeral the same.
●
3 Solve simultaneously using the elimination method:
5x  2y  28
3x  5y  51
5x  2y  28 1  or 5x  2y  28 
1
3x  5y  51 
2 3x  5y  51 
2

Step 1 Make the coefficients of one pronumeral the same:


1 3 15x  6y  84 
1 5 25x  10y  140

2 5 15x  25y  255 
2 2 6x  10y  102
Steps 2 and 3 Subtract and solve: It doesn’t matter
19y  171 19x  38 whether you
eliminate x to find y,
y9 x2 or y to find x. Choose
Step 4 Substitute: whichever way you
find easier.
3x  5y  51 
2 3x  5y  51 
2
3x  5  9  51 3  2  5y  51
3x  45  51 6  5y  51
3x  6 5y  45
x 2 y 9
Step 5 The solution is x  2 and y  9.

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E x e r c i s e 12O T H E E L I M I N AT I O N M E T H O D

■
1 Use the elimination method to solve each pair of equations, by adding them:
a 2x  2y  20 b 2x  y  10 c 2x  3y  6 d x  5y  15
3x  2y  10 3x  y  5 x  3y  9 x  2y  6
e 2x  y  2 f xy9 g x  5y  8 h x  2y  9
x  y  5 xy3 3x  5y  4 x  2y  1
i 5x  y  2 j xy5 k 9a  2b  91 l 3x  2y  5
2x  y  12 3x  y  7 5a  2b  35 2x  2y  10

■
2 Use the elimination method to solve each pair of equations by subtracting them:
a 4x  3y  8 b 3x  y  7 c 2x  5y  11 d y  2x  1
3x  3y  5 2x  y  5 2x  3y  7 yx3
e x  5y  14 f 2x  3y  6 g 3x  2y  20 h 2x  5y  8
x  3y  6 x  3y  0 3x  3y  10 2x  3y  6
i x  5y  14 j 2x  4y  3 k 2x  y  18 l 8x  3y  6
x  3y  6 2x  y  12 3x  y  10 5x  3y  3

■
3 Solve using the elimination method:
a xy9 b x  3y  5 c x  2y  6 d xy9
2x  y  6 x  3y  7 x  2y  4 xy7
e x  y  3 f yx2 g xy7 h x  3y  6
xy5 2x  y  8 3x  y  5 x  3y  8
i 3x  5y  10 j y  5x  2 k 2x  5y  9 l 2x  9y  2
3x  5y  8 2x  y  12 4x  3y  11 5x  13y  24

■
4 Use the elimination method to solve:
a 3x  4y  14 b 2x  y  3 c 3x  4y  12
xy3 x  2y  9 xy4
d 4x  5y  22 e 2x  3y  11 f 5x  3y  16
x  y  10 x  y  2 3x  y  4
Remember to make
g x  y  10 h 2x  y  8 i x  3y  6 the coefficients of one
3x  4y  2 3x  2y  12 2x  4y  8 pronumeral the same.

j 2x  5y  11 k 3x  y  7 l 3x  5y  25
5x  2y  17 x  2y  9 2x  y  8
m 4x  7y  19 n 2x  5y  13 o 4x  3y  9
3x  y  8 5x  3y  15 x  3y  9
p 2x  y  8 q 5x  3y  1 r 9a  7b  116
5x  2y  3 8x  y  6 5a  2b  35

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Using simultaneous equations to solve

worded problems
Worded problems with two unknown values can generally be transformed to simultaneous
equations and then these equations can be solved to find the unknowns. Follow these steps:
Step 1 Read the problem carefully.
Step 2 Determine what you are to find and choose two pronumerals to represent the
unknown quantities.
Step 3 Transform the worded problem into two simultaneous equations.
Step 4 Solve these equations.
Step 5 Check your answer to make sure that it satisfies the original problem.
Step 6 Write your answer in words.

Example
Judy is 3 times as old as her son Tom. The sum of their ages is 64. Find their ages.
Let Tom’s age be x years. Let Judy’s age be y years. Now Judy is 3 times as old
as Tom, so:
y  3x
3x  y  0 
1

Also, the sum of their ages is 64 years, so:

x  y  64 
2

Solve these equations simultaneously:

Use x and y to
Add: 3x  y  0 
1 represent the
unknown numbers
x  y  64
_____________ 
2

Solve: 4x  64
64
x 
4

x  16
Now: x  y  64 
2
16  y  64
y  64  16
y  48
Tom is 16 years old and Judy is 48 years old.

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E x e r c i s e 12P U S I N G S I M U LTA N E O U S E Q U AT I O N S T O S O LV E W O R D E D P R O B L E M S

■
1 Solve each problem by forming a pair of simultaneous equations. Let the unknown
values be x and y.
a The sum of two numbers is 23 and their difference is 7. Find the numbers.
b The sum of two numbers is 80 and their difference is 42. Find the numbers.
c The sum of two numbers is 56. Twice the first number minus the second number
is equal to 25. Find the numbers.
d The sum of two numbers is 36 and one of the two numbers is twice the other.
Find the numbers.
e The difference between two numbers is 15 and the smaller number plus twice the
larger number is equal to 36. Find the numbers.

■
2 Form a pair of simultaneous equations to solve each problem:
a There are 620 students in a school. If there are 80 more girls than boys, how many
boys and girls are there?
b The difference between the length and width of a room is 4 m and the perimeter is
48 m. Find the length and the width of the room.
c The equation y  mx  b is satisfied when x  1 and y  1, and when x  2 and
y  4. Find m and b.
d In her yearly tests, Georgie got 20 more marks in Maths than in English. The total of
her marks for both the tests was 130. Find her marks in each test.
e Five apples and three oranges costs $2.70 whereas three apples and one orange
costs $1.30. Find the price of each piece of fruit.

■
3 Form a pair of simultaneous equations for each diagram and find the values of x and y :

a b 13 c

50°
3x  2y x  2y x  2y
7
(4x  y )° (x  y )°

8 3x  2y

d e f
3x ° 2x °
2x  3y x  3y

(2x  y )° (2x  y )° y °

18

■
4 a Kate is 5 years older than her brother Peter. If the sum of their ages is 27 years, what
are their ages?
b Jill is 3 times as old as her daughter Jessica. The sum of their ages is 72 years. Find
their ages.

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c A man has 2 daughters whose ages together total 32 years. Twice the age of the elder
is 6 years less than 3 times the age of the younger. Find the age of each daughter.
d At present Jordan is twice as old as his brother Michael, but 5 years ago Jordan was
3 times as old as Michael. Find their present ages.
e Michelle, at present, is 3 times as old as her daughter. In 10 years time she will be
twice her daughter’s age. How old is each now?

■
5 a A jar contains 35 coins made up of only 5c and 10c coins. The total amount is $2.60.
How many 10c and 5c coins are there?
b A movie theatre charges $15 admission for adults and $11 for children. If 163 tickets
were sold and the total takings were $2221, how many adults and children attended?
c When the numerator and denominator of a fraction are each increased by 5, the
3
value of the fraction becomes
5
. When the numerator and denominator of that same
1
fraction are each decreased by 5, the fraction is then
5
. Find the original fraction.
p
(Hint: Let the fraction be
q
.)
d A truck is loaded with two different types of crates. When 20 of crate A and 25 of
crate B are loaded, the truck’s 8 tonne capacity is reached. When 2 of crate A and 16
of crate B are loaded, the same capacity is reached. Calculate the mass of each crate.
e A hall has 1325 seats. These are arranged in rows of 35 seats or 40 seats. The ratio of
35-seat rows to 40-seat rows is 3 : 4. How many rows are there?
f Con has twice as much money as Fiona. If Fiona earns an extra $15, Con will only
have one-and-a-half times her amount. How much money does each person have?
g The linear equation F  ac  b is used to change temperature from degrees
Celsius (°C) to degrees Fahrenheit (°F). Given that 0°C  32°F and 100°C  212°F,
calculate the constants a and b.
h A company employs 4 times as many unskilled workers as it does skilled workers.
Unskilled workers earn $650 a week, and skilled workers earn $850 a week. The
weekly wage bill for these workers is $17 250. How many skilled and unskilled
workers are there?

■
6 Multiple-choice questions in a test are graded by adding 2 marks for each correct
response and subtracting 1 mark for each incorrect response (including no response).
Rory and Jenny answered all the multiple-choice questions, with Rory scoring 27 and
Jenny scoring 42. Rory answered 19 questions correctly.
a How many multiple-choice questions were there?
b How many more questions than Rory did Jenny answer correctly?

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literaacy skillsil
P R O B L E M S O L V I N G 12

A way of solving simultaneous equations written as a1x  b1y c1  0 and a2x  b2y c2  0
is shown below.
p Write the coefficients in order beginning from the middle (b) and b1 c1 a 1 b1
returning there in a loop.
p Draw diagonals between the coefficients as shown. b2 c2 a 2 b2
p Draw dotted borders around groups of 4 coefficients.
p Multiply a pair diagonally ( ), and a pair on the other diagonal ( ).
b1 c1 a 1 b1
Subtract the second product from the first. Repeat this for each box
and write:
x y 1 b2 c2 a 2 b2







b1c 2  b2c1 c1a2  c2a1 a1b2  a2b1
p Use this to determine the solution.

Example
Solve simultaneously:
7 13 3 7
3x  7y  13  0
4x  5y 3  0
5 3 4 5

x y 1










(7  3)  (5  13) (13  4)  (3  3) (3  5)  (4  7)
x y 1







86 43 43
x 1 y 1









86 43 43 43
86 43
x 

y 


43 43
x2 y  1
Check this solution using the methods you have learned in this chapter.

For this method to work, the equation must first be written in the form ax  by  c  0.

■
1 Use this technique to find the solution to each pair of simultaneous equations:
a 6x  13y  1  0 b 2x  9y  8  0 c 6m  9n  5  0
5x  2y  12  0 5x  6y  37  0 8m  7n  10  0
d 5a  3b  1 e 5x  2y  10 f 7p  6q  30
13a  9b  4 4x  3y  15 5p  3q  –10

■
2 a Does this technique have any advantages over the methods you used in this
chapter? If so, what are they?
b Does it have any disadvantages?

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Literacy
L
Li c
racy skills
kills
acy skillsil Literac y S K I L L S 12

linear equation substitute expression

operation pronumeral grouping symbols
expand lowest common multiple inequality
simultaneous elimination coefficient graphical

■
1 A certain equation is solved by following these instructions:
literacy
a Expand by removing grouping symbols.
b Add x to both sides to collect like terms.
c Subtract 10 from both sides.
d Divide both sides by 3.
The solution to this equation is x  7.
Write the original equation by working backwards through these steps.

■
2 The table below includes a list of worded expressions. The first line of the table is
complete. Write the algebraic expression for the second line, then complete the
remainder of the table.

Worded expression Pronumeral  Algebraic

unknown quantity expression
twice a certain number x  certain number 2x
the sum of 3 consecutive integers n  smallest integer
3 times the width
the sum of 3 angles that are in the ratio of 1:2:31:2:3
$4 less than Matthew’s share
7 more than twice a number
5 subtracted from 3 times a number
3 times a number subtracted from 5
3 years younger than Monique
24 years older than Nancy

■
3 a Compare (write things that are similar in) and contrast (write things that are
different about) the substitution and elimination methods for solving simultaneous
equations. Which method do you prefer? Discuss why.
b Discuss why the elimination method is not a good choice of methods when solving
pairs of simultaneous equations such as xy  1 and y  2x  1.

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Chapter review 12

■
1 Solve:
a x  9  24 b x  5  12 c 5x  35
x
d

 8 e 2x  3  15 f 5x  1  19
2
■
2 Solve:
5x
a

 10 b 8x  7  6x  15 c 3  x  11
2
m
d

 5  6 e 8x  5x  12 f 84  7x  5x
12
■
3 Solve: 5y 7y
a 5m  9  4m  7 b 8x  21  13  9x c

 3 


2 4
d 6  2x  8  x e 12x  7  3x  14x  3 f 6a  9  5a  3

■
4 Find the value of the pronumeral:
a 8(a  5)  7a  32 b 5(x  3)  4x  1
c 6  (3x  4)  x d 4(x  5)  2(3x  6)

■
5 Solve:
a 3(3t  2)  2(2t  5) b 8m  (7m  6)  2(m  9)

■
6 Solve:
4x 8x
a

 2  2 b

 14  20  5x
7 5
■
7 Solve:
5p  10 3a  9
a

 10 b

 12
3 2
■
8 Solve:
x 2m
a

 x  6 b

 9  m
3 5
■
9 Solve:
x2 x3 y y
a



b



 2
5 7 3 4
■
10 Solve:
6 5 1 1 1
a



 4 b





 3
5y 3y x 2x 3x
■
11 Write an equation for each statement and then solve it to find the unknown value:
a 11 more than a number is 5 more than double the number. Find the number.
b The sum of 3 consecutive integers is 63. Find the smallest integer.

■
12 Solve:
2 2
a x  169 b x  225  0

■
13 Solve:
2 2
a 4x  100  0 b 8x  50

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■
14 Use the formula v  u  at to find the value of:
a v when u  9, a  2 and t  1.5 b u when v  12, a  4 and t  3

■
2
15 The volume of a cylinder with base radius r and height h is given by V  πr h. Find the
value correct to 2 decimal places of:
a V when r  5 and h  14 b h when V  548 and r  8
c r when V  64π and h  12


l
■
16 If T  2π

, what is the value of l when g  9.8 and T  24? (Answer correct to
g
2 decimal places.)

■
17 Solve:
a 3x  5 4 b 6  2x  26

■
18 Solve: x
a 3(2m  3)  12m  9 b 12  x


3
■
19 Solve and graph:
a a x
a



 18 b 10 

3 c 2  3x  4 10
2 3 2
■
20 Solve these simultaneous equations by setting up tables of values:
xy3
xy1

■
21 Solve these simultaneous equations using the ‘guess and check’ method:
3x  y  1
2x  y  4

■
22 Use the graphical method to solve this pair of simultaneous equations:
xy2
2x  y  5

■
23 Use the substitution method to solve:
x  2y  5
3x  2y  1

■
24 Use the elimination method to solve:
2x  5y  10
3x  5y  15

■
25 The sum of two numbers is 28, and one of the numbers is three times the other. Find
the numbers.

■
26 Solve:
a 8x  15  5x  12 b 18  4b  6  5b

■
27 Solve:
a 5(2a  1)  7 b 9(x  5)  4x  7

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■
28 Solve:
x 3m m
a

 2  4 b



 7
5 2 3
■
29 Solve: 2x
a 8x  3  5x  12 b

4
3
■
30 Find the value of the pronumeral:
3x  2
a

 x  5 b 9(m  2)  4(m  1)
2
■
31 Solve:
a 8  y  5y  32 b 6(x  7)  (x  2)  1

■
32 Solve:
a 3x  4  20 b 4x  12  24

■
33 Solve:
a 5x  4x  16 b 3(x  2) 12

■
34 Solve:
3x 2x 6n  2
a



 6 b

 n
2 3 3
■
35 Find the value of the pronumeral:
8n  3 2x  6
a

 4 b

 2
5 8
■
36 Solve simultaneously:
a 5x  y  12 b 5m  2n  16
3x  2y  10 2m  3n  5

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