SOLVING EQUATIONS BY ADDING

VOCABULARY Equations – a mathematical sentence with an equal sign. Each side of the equal sign will have the same value. Inverse Operations – operations that undo each other. For example, subtraction will undo addition.

SOLVING EQUATIONS When you solve equations, your goal is to get the variable alone on one side of the equation with everything else on the other side. To make that happen, you must use inverse operations. The opposite of addition is subtraction

Example 1 x + 6 = 10 Since there is a + 6 on the side of the variable, we must use inverse operations to get rid of it. x + 6 = 10 = - 6 x = 4

CHECKING TIME When you’re finished with your problem, go back and check! x + 6 = 10 Since we know that x = 4, replace the x with 4 4 + 6 = 10 10 = 10

NOTE Whenever the original problem shows addition, use subtraction to get rid of the numbers. Only subtract the number that is on the side of the variable.