How is the process of solving literal equations different from solving equations with only one variable?
I have looked over my notes, and me lessons, but I can not come up with a good answer, or explanation;( Please help, it would be very much appreciated(:!!!
not sure I know what a "literal equation" is. Care to elaborate?
I'd be happy to help you understand the difference between solving literal equations and equations with only one variable.
In equations with only one variable, such as "x + 5 = 10", the goal is to isolate the variable, in this case, x. We can achieve this by performing operations like adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing on both sides of the equation until the variable is by itself.
On the other hand, literal equations involve multiple variables. These equations express a relationship between different variables. For example, "A = l x w" represents the area (A) of a rectangle as a product of its length (l) and width (w).
To solve a literal equation, the objective is usually to isolate one variable in terms of the others. Let's take the same example equation "A = l x w" and assume we want to solve for l (length). Here's how to proceed:
1. Start with the original equation: A = l x w.
2. To get l by itself, divide both sides of the equation by w: A/w = l x w/w.
3. Simplify the right side of the equation: A/w = l.
4. Finally, switch the sides of the equation to give l = A/w.
Now, you have "l = A/w", expressing the length in terms of the area and width. In this process, we treat the other variables (A and w) as constants to focus on isolating the desired variable (l).
The key difference between solving literal equations and equations with one variable is that in literal equations, you are trying to isolate a specific variable in terms of others, while in single variable equations, you aim to isolate the variable itself.