Sorry, that's wrong. Do it this way: First equation: 8x - 6y = 4 Second equation: 2x - y = -2 Solve the second equation for y, that's because y in the second equation has a coefficient of -1 and that makes it solvable without fractions: Second equation: 2x - y = -2 -y = -2 - 2x Consider the coefficient of y to be -1 -1y = -2 - 2x Then divide through by -1= - y = 2 + 2x Since y and 2 + 2x are equal you can sustitute (2 + 2x) in place of y in the first equation: First equation: 8x - 6y = 4 8x - 6(2 + 2x) = 4 Solve that for x: 8x - 12 - 12x = 4 -4x - 12 = 4 -4x = 16 x = x = -4 Go back to where you solved for y y = 2 + 2x and since x and -4 are equal you can substitute (-4) for x and find y: y = 2 + 2x y = 2 + 2(-4) y = 2 - 8 y = -6 So the solution is x = -4, y = -6, often written as (x,y) = (-4,-6) Edwin