SOLUTION: how do you put 1/2x-1/5=-1 in y=mx+b format?

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Question 508960: how do you put 1/2x-1/5=-1 in y=mx+b format?

Answer by Theo(13342) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
equation is:
1/2x-1/5=-1
add 1 to both sides of that equation to get:
(1/2)x - (1/5) + 1 = 0
simplify to get:
(1/2)x - (1/5) + (5/5) = 0
simplify further to get:
(1/2)x + (4/5) = 0
set the equation equal to y to get:
y = (1/2)x + (4/5)
the equation is now in y = mx + b format.
you can graph this equation to get:
graph%28400%2C400%2C-5%2C5%2C-5%2C5%2C%281%2F2%29x+%2B+%284%2F5%29%29

by substituting y for 0, you generalized the equation to be solved for all values of y, not just 0.
if you set y = 0 then you get your original equation back.