Algebraic Equations

Expression: 3( x  7)  4
Main difference: sign
Equation: 2x  4  6

Equations

An equation is a mathematical sentence which consists of 2 expressions made equal to each other (LHS=RHS). In order for
an equation to be solved, a value for the unknown variable must be found.
What must the value of x be so that if I multiply
this value by 2 and add 4 I will get a value of 6.
x 1
An equation consists of 3 parts: 2x  4  6
1 3
2
LHS RHS
Left hand side
 Right hand side

Exercise 1

Solve the following equations by inspection

1. x25
2. m  4  11
z
3. 5
3
4. 2 y  12
5. 5x  50
6. 2 y 1  5

Solving equations

The main aim of an equation is to solve that equation by finding a value for the unknown variable. We can only do this by
isolating the variable (getting the variable on its own) within the equation and the easiest way is to do this is to use inverse
operations.

1. 2.

We can see from the above examples that addition and subtraction are inverse operations of each other.

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 3. 4.

x x
8

We can see from the above examples that multiplication and division are inverse operations of each other.

 
Summary of  
Inverse Operations:  
 

How to solve equations using inverses (Addition and Subtraction)

Remember that when solving equations, the golden rule is that whatever I do to the one side of the equation must
also be done to the other side of the equation.
Examples: Solve for x
Inverse operation 6 Inverse operation 7
1. x  6  9 2. x  7  12
6 6 7 7
x3 Applied to LHS and RHS x  5 Applied to LHS and RHS

Remember we do the inverse operations so that we can isolate the variable and solve the equation.
Exercise 2
Solve the following equations
1. x5  9 9. 13  x  15
2. y7  4 10. x 10  2
3. p  4  10 11. x  5  6
4. n  2  5 12. x  11  15
5. k  12  5 13. 2  x9
6. x  8  2 14. 1 x 8
7. x  4  2 15. 1  x  30
8. y  14  7

How to solve equations using inverses (Multiplication and Division)

Remember that when solving equations, the golden rule is that whatever I do to the one side of the equation must
also be done to the other side of the equation.

Examples: Solve the following equations

x
1. 3 w  12 Inverse operation 3 2. 5 Inverse operation 3
3
3 3 3 3
Applied to LHS and RHS Applied to LHS and RHS
x  4 x  15
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 y 3
3.  Inverse operation 10
10 5
10 10

3 10 Applied to LHS and RHS

y 
5 1
y6

Remember we do the inverse operations so that we can isolate the variable and solve the equation.
Exercise 3
Solve the following equations
1. 2a  8 9. 3g  2
2. 3b  15 10. 8i  1
y
3. 4c  12 11.  10
5
y 3
4. 5d  20 12. 
2 4
y 1
5. 5e  175 13. 
4 2
6. 4h  3 14. 7 j  14
y
7. 8k  2 15. 5
5
8. 10 f  5 16. 4l  100

Have you noticed a pattern? Can you see the ‘short cut’ when solving equations?
This short cut will help when you do more complex examples but both the full and short method is correct.

Examples: Full method Short method

Inverse operation : -4
x45 x 4 5
4 4 x  54
x 1 x 1

Equations requiring more than one operation

When an equation requires more than one operation always remove the constant first by completing the inverse
operation and then lastly solve for the variable by using inverse operations.

Examples: Solve the following equations Constant to RHS

1.  x  5  10 Constant to RHS 2. 2y  7  4
2.  x  10  5 2y  4  7
Inverse operation: 2
 x  15 Inverse operation:   1 2 y  3
1 1 2 2
3
x  15 y
2

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Exercise 4
Solve the following equations
1. x46 15. 0  30  5x
2.  x  9  2 16. 2x 1  0
3. 4 x  7 17. 3x  1  4
4. 5  x  1 18. 5  3x  10
5. 12  y  2 19. 3x  2  17
6. 3 y  5 20. 5x  7  28
7. 2 x  4  10 21. 28  3 p  4
8. 2 x  4  20 22. 5x  7  4
9. 3x  2  10 23. 4 x  15  9
10. 4 x  4  16 24. 3 p  4  20
11. 5  5x  20 25. 28  4  3p
12. 6 x  6  30 26. 6 x  9  48
13. 0  12 x  60 27.  x  4  15
4
14. 17 x  34  0 28. 46
x

Variables and constants on both sides of the equation

When an equation has variables and constants on both sides of the equation, ‘move’ all of the variables to one
side of the equation while you ‘move’ all of the constants to the other side of the equation. Remember to
collect like terms before ‘moving’ variables and constants.

Examples: Solve the following equations

variable to LHS
variable to LHS
1. 4 x  3x  5 2. 6 x  4 x  10
2. 4 x  3x  5 6 x  4 x  10
x5 10 x  10 Solve for x
10 10
Inverse operation: 10
x 1

x  3  2 x  9 variable to LHS 4. 6  6x  4  4x  6 Collect like terms

x  2x  9  3 constants to RHS 10  6 x  4 x  6
3x  6 6 x  4 x  6 10
variable to LHS
3 3 Solve for x 2 x  16 constants to RHS
x2 Inverse operation: 3 2 2
x  8
Solve for x
Inverse operation: 2
Exercise 5
Solve the following equations:

1. 6 x  5x  6 16. 12 x  5  13x  9
2. 3x  2 x  1 17. 6 x  2  4 x 10
3. 8x  7 x  9 18. 8x  8  6 x  20
4. 5 x  3x  2 19. 6 x  5  3x 10
5. 6 x  2 x  16 20. 6 x 11  9 x  4
6. 10 x  7 x 12 21. 15  2 y  3  y
7. 3x  7  4 x 22. 5  z  17  2 z
8. 2 x  3x  20 23. 8  3t  2t  27
9. 6 x  4  4 x  12 24. 2x  7  3  x  4

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 10. 2  3x  5  x  2 25. 2x  5  4  x
11. 4 x  4  3x  8 26. 8 y  1  13  5 y
12. 5x  2  4 x  9 27. 2y  7  9  y
13. 7 x  3  6x  4 28. 5  2 y  3 y 1
14. 9 x  2  10 x  4 29. 3  4x  1  x
15. 4 x  5  5x  9 30. 5  a  2  3a  1

Equations with brackets

If an equation has brackets, remove the brackets first by using the distributive law.

Examples:
1. 3( x  2)  2( x  1) 2. 3  (a  2)  5a  1
3x  6  2 x  2 3  a  2  5a  1
.3x  2 x  2  6 a  1  5a  1
x  4 a  5a  1  1
6a  0
6 6
a0

Exercise 6
Solve the following equations:

1. 2(3  x)  8 7. 1  ( x  2)  5  x
2. 3( x  2)  2( x  1) 8. 2 y  3( y  1)  15  4 y
3. 5( x  1)  4( x  2) 9. 2(2 x  5)  2(1  x)
4. 2(2  x)  3( x  2) 10. 3( x  4)  2( x  2)  2  x
5. 5( p  1)  (1  2 p)  8 11. 2  5(1  y)  3 y  4
6. 8  3( p  7)  p  5 12. 6( p 1)  p  2( p  1)  p  1

Checking Solutions
You can check to see if the solution for an equation is correct by checking to see if the value of the LHS of the
equation equals the value of the RHS of the equation. You will need to split the equation into 2 expressions, LHS
and RHS, and you will find the value of these expressions by substituting the solution value in for the variable.

The solution is CORRECT if the LHS= RHS

The solution is INCORRECT if the LHS  RHS

Examples:
1. Without solving the equation confirm whether x  2 is the correct solution to the equation 2 x  4  3x  5 .
2. Split the equation: 2 expressions
LHS  2 x  4 RHS  3x  5
 2(2)  4  3(2)  5
8 1
 LHS  RHS  x  2 is not the correct solution to this equation 2x  4  3x  5 .

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 3. Without solving the equation confirm whether x  3 is the correct solution to the equation
3( x  2)  10  5  ( x  3) .
Split the equation: 2 expressions

LHS  3( x  2)  10 RHS  5  ( x  3)
 3(3  2)  10  5  (3  3)
 3(5)  10  5  (0)
5 5

 LHS  RHS  x  3 is the correct solution to the equation 3( x  2) 10  5  ( x  3) .

Special Cases: Variable Cancels

DOES NOT hold true
because 0 cannot equal 4 .
This shows us that there are
no solutions to this
equation.
3x  8  3( x  4) 2( x  4)  ( x  4)  3( x  2)  2
3x  8  3x  12 2 x  8   x  4  3x  6  2
3x  3x  12  8 2x  8  2x  8
HOLDS TRUE because 0 can
0x  4 2x  2x  8  8
equal 0 . This shows us that
04 00
all values could be a solution
No solution x 
to this equation!

Problem solving equations

Steps to help you in solving word problems:
1. Define your variable ie. Let whatever you are looking for be x
2. Make an equation with the given information ie. Translate the English sentences into a maths equation
3. Solve the equation
4. Answer the question and check your solution

Examples:
1. There are 7 more boys in a class than girls in a class of 33. How many girls are there?

Let the number of girls be x There are x  7 boys in the class

Girls + boys = total number of students in class
x  x  7  33
2 x  7  33
2 x  33  7
2 x  26
x  13
 There are 13 girls in the class

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 2. David is two years older than Kate and four years older than Thandi. Their ages add up to 27. How old is
Thandi?

Let Thandi’s age be x  David’s age will be x  4 and Kate’s age will be x  2 .
Thandi’s age+ David’s age + Kate’s age = 27
x  x  4  x  2  27
3x  6  27
3x  27  6
3x  21
x7

Thandi is 7 years old

Exercise 7
Solve the following word problems. You have been given some help with the first few problems.
1. A certain number is multiplied by 3 and then 4 is added. The result is 19. What was the number?
Hint: Let the be x
Make an equation with the given information:
Solve the equation:

answer the question:

2. The sum of the three consecutive even numbers is 36. What are the numbers?
Hint: Let the smallest even number be x . The other two numbers would be

Make an equation:
Solve the equation:

Answer the question:

3. Josh plays 4 cricket matches in a month. In each match he scores 3 more runs than what he scored in the
previous match. He scored a total of 206 runs for the 4 matches. How many runs did he score for each
match?

Hint: Let the score in the first game be x . The score in the 2nd game would be
The score in the 3rd game would be
The score in the 4th game would be

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 Make an equation:
Solve the equation:

Answer the question:

4. David is two years older than Peter and five years older than John. Their ages add up to 44. How old is
John?
5. When twice a number is subtracted from 11, the result is 5. What is the number?
6. Benny cuts a 12m length of rope into two pieces so that one piece is three times as the other. How long is
the shorter piece?
7. At the movies, Lira buys three boxes of popcorn and four cooldrinks for her family at a cost of R162.
Each drink costs R18. Find the cost of a box of popcorn.
8. You open your Maths textbook and you determine that the sum of the page number on the left and the
page on the right is 333. Which two pages did you open up to?
9. An ice-cream costs twice as much as a cold drink. 3 ice-creams and 5 cold drinks together cost R71,50.
How much does an ice cream cost?
10. Peter is three times as old as Simon and six years older than Justin. Their combined age is 43 years. How
old is Simon.
11. The length of a rectangle is twice its width. If the perimeter is 30m, what are the dimensions of the
rectangle?
12. A furniture dealer has 4-legged and 3-legged tables in stock. There are 48 tables in total and the total
number of legs is 172. How many tables of each kind does he have in stock?

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Algebraic Equations

Exercise 1

1. x  3 2. m7 3. z  15 4. y6
5. x  10 6. y  2

Exercise 2

1. x4 2. y 3 3. p6 4. n  7
5. k  7 6. x  10 7. x2 8. y7
9. x  28 10. x 8 11. x  1 12. x  26
13. x  7 14. x9 15. x  29

Exercise 3

1. a4 2. b5 3. c  3 4. d 4
3 1 1
5. e  35 6. h   7. k  8. f 
4 4 2
2 1 3
9. g   10. i 11. y  50 12. y
3 8 2
13. y  2 14. j  2 15. y  25 16. l  25

Exercise 4

1. x  2 2. x7 3. x  3 4. x6
5. y  14 6. y  2 7. x3 8. x  8
9. x  4 10. x5 11. x3 12. x4
1
13. x  5 14. x  2 15. x  6 16. x
2

5
17. x  1 18. x 19. x5 20. x7
3
3 3 16
21. p  8 22. x   23. k  24. p
5 2 3
57
25. p  8 26. x 27. x  11 28. x2
6

Exercise 5

1. x  6 2. x 1 3. x  9 4. x 1
5. x  4 6. x  4 7. x 1 8. x4
5
9. x  4 10. x 11. x4 12. x  11
2
13. x  1 14. x  6 15. x  14 16. x  2

17. x  6 18. x6 19. x  5 20. x  5

21. x  4 22. z  4 23. t 7 24. x0
1 14 2 6
25. x   26. y 27. y 28. y
3 3 3 5

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 2 3
29. x  30. a
3 2

Exercise 6
2
1. x  1 2. x  4 3. x  3 4. x
5
9
5. p2 6. p 7. x  3 8. y4
2
7 1
9. x  2 10. x5 ` 11. y 12. x
2 2

Exercise 7
1. A certain number is multiplied by 3 and then 4 is added. The result is 19. What was the number?
Hint: Let the number be x
Make an equation with the given information: 3x  4  19
Solve the equation: 3x  4  19
3x  15
x5

answer the question: The number is 5

2. The sum of the three consecutive even numbers is 36. What are the numbers?
Hint: Let the smallest even number be x . The other two numbers would be x2
x4
Make an equation: x  x  2  x  4  36
Solve the equation: x  x  2  x  4  36
3x  6  36
3x  30
x  10

Answer the question: The numbers are 10;12;14

3.Josh plays 4 cricket matches in a month. In each match he scores 3 more runs than what he scored in the
previous match. He scored a total of 206 runs for the 4 matches. How many runs did he score for each match?

Hint: Let the score in the first game be x . The score in the 2nd game would be x3
The score in the 3rd game would be x6
The score in the 4th game would be x9

Make an equation: x  x  3  x  6  x  9  206

Solve the equation: x  x  3  x  6  x  9  206
4 x  18  206
4 x  188
x  47

Answer the question: He scored 47;50;53 and 56 runs

4. John is 12 years old.

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5. The number is 3.
6. The piece is 3m long.
7. The box of popcorn was R30.
8. The two pages are 166 and 167.
9. The ice cream cost R13.
10. Simon is 7 years old.
11. The length is 10m and the width is 5m.
12. There are 20 3 legged tables and 28 4 legged tables.

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