Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
1. Locate the x-term with the smallest coefficient. Identify the constant on the other side of the equation. Subtract the sum of those values from both sides of the equation:
13x +7 -(7+8x) = 8x +27 -(7+8x)
5x = 20 . . . . simplify
x = 4 . . . . . . . divide by the coefficient of x
__
2. Same procedure:
2x -1 -(2x+44) = 7x +44 -(2x+44)
-45 = 5x . . . . . . simplify
-9 = x . . . . . . . . . divide by the coefficient of x
_____
Comment on this type of problem
This sort of equation with constants and variables on both sides is called a 3-step linear equation, because it usually takes 3 steps to solve it:
In the above procedure, we have combined the first two steps. By locating and subtracting the variable term with the smallest coefficient, we ensure that the equation will have a positive coefficient for the variable. This can help reduce mistakes.
