Basic Equations
Objectives
► Solving Linear Equations
► Solving Power Equations
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Basic Equations
Equations are the basic mathematical tool for solving
real-world problems.
An equation is a statement that two mathematical
expressions are equal.
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Basic Equations
In the equation
4x + 7 = 19
the letter x is the variable. We think of x as the “unknown”
in the equation, and our goal is to find the value of x that
makes the equation true.
The values of the unknown that make the equation true are
called the solutions or roots of the equation, and the
process of finding the solutions is called solving the
equation.
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Solving Linear Equations
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Solving Linear Equations
The simplest type of equation is a linear equation, or
first-degree equation, which is an equation in which each
term is either a constant or a nonzero multiple of the
variable.
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Solving Linear Equations
Here are some examples that illustrate the difference
between linear and nonlinear equations.
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Example 1 – Solving a Linear Equation
Solve the equation 7x – 4 = 3x + 8.
Solution:
We solve this by changing it to an equivalent equation with
all terms that have the variable x on one side and all
constant terms on the other:
7x – 4 = 3x + 8 Given equation
(7x – 4) + 4 = (3x + 8) + 4 Add 4
7x = 3x + 12 Simplify
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Example 1 – Solution cont’d
7x – 3x = (3x + 12) – 3x Subtract 3x
4x = 12 Simplify
Multiply by
x=3 Simplify
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Example 1 – Solution cont’d
Check Your Answer:
x = 3: LHS = 7(3) – 4 RHS = 3(3) + 8
= 17 = 17
LHS = RHS
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Solving Linear Equations
When a linear equation involves fractions, solving the
equation is usually easier if we first multiply each side by
the lowest common denominator (LCD) of the fractions.
In the next example we solve an equation that doesn’t look
like a linear equation, but it simplifies to one when we
multiply by the LCD.
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Example 3 – An Equation Involving Fractional Expressions
Solve the equation
Solution:
The LCD of the fractional expressions is
(x + 1)(x – 2) = x2 – x – 2. So as long as x ≠ –1 and x ≠ 2,
we can multiply both sides of the equation by the LCD to
get
Mulitiply by LCD
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Example 3 – Solution cont’d
(x – 2) + (x + 1) = x + 3 Expand
2x – 1 = x + 3 Simplify
x=4 Solve
The solution is x = 4.
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Example 3 – Solution cont’d
Check Your Answer:
x = 4:
LHS = RHS
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Example 4 – An Equation with No Solution
Solve the equation
Solution:
First, we multiply each side by the common denominator,
which is x – 4:
Multiply by x – 4
2(x – 4) + 5 = x + 1 Expand
2x – 8 + 5 = x + 1 Distributive Property
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Example 4 – Solution cont’d
2x – 3 = x + 1 Simplify
2x = x + 4 Add 3
x=4 Subtract x
But now if we try to substitute x = 4 back into the original
equation, we would be dividing by 0, which is impossible.
So this equation has no solution.
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Example 4 – Solution cont’d
Check Your Answer:
x = 4:
Impossible—can’t divide by 0. LHS and RHS are
undefined, so x = 4 is not a solution.
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Solving Power Equations
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Solving Power Equations
Linear equations have variables only to the first power.
Now let’s consider some equations that involve squares,
cubes, and other powers of the variable.
Here we just consider basic equations that can be
simplified into the form Xn = a. Equations of this form are
called power equations and can be solved by taking
radicals of both sides of the equation.
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Solving Power Equations
Here are some examples of solving power equations.
The equation x5 = 32 has only one real
solution: x = = 2.
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Solving Power Equations
The equation x4 = 16 has two real
solutions: x = ± = ±2.
The equation x5 = –32 has only one real
solution: x = = –2.
The equation x4 = –16 has no real solutions because
does not exist.
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Example 5 – Solving Power Equations
Solve each equation.
(a) x2 – 5 = 0 (b) (x – 4)2 = 5
Solution:
(a) x2 – 5 = 0
x2 = 5 Add 5
x=± Take the square root
The solutions are x = and x = – .
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Example 5 – Solution cont’d
(b) We can take the square root of each side of this
equation as well:
(x – 4)2 = 5
x–4=± Take the square root
x=4± Add 4
The solutions are x = 4 + and x = 4 – .
Be sure to check that each answer satisfies the original
equation.
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Solving Power Equations
The next example shows how to solve an equation that
involves a fractional power of the variable.
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Example 7 – Solving an Equation with a Fractional Power
Solve the equation 5x2/3 – 2 = 43.
Solution:
The idea is to first isolate the term with the fractional
exponent, then raise both sides of the equation to the
reciprocal of that exponent:
5x2/3 – 2 = 43
5x2/3 = 45 Add 2
x2/3 = 9 Divide by 5
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Example 7 – Solution cont’d
x = ±93/2 Raise both sides to power
x = ±27 Simplify
The solutions are x = 27 and x = –27.
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Example 7 – Solution cont’d
Check Your Answers:
x = 27: x = –27:
LHS = 5(27)2/3 – 2 LHS = 5(–27)2/3 – 2
= 5(9) – 2 = 5(9) – 2
= 43 = 43
RHS = 43 RHS = 43
LHS = RHS LHS = RHS
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Exercises
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Exercises
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