Question 22990: when dealing with multistep equations how do you know which ones are multiplication and which ones are adding subtracting and dividing?
Answer by rapaljer(4671)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Are you solving equations like 3x+4= 34 ?
If this is what you are asking, begin with the x, and you can see that because there is no sign between the 3 and the x, that this is multiplication of 3 times x. Next, there is a plus 4, which means addition. Now, in order to solve for x, you must UNDO these operations in reverse order. This means that you must UNDO addition of +4. You can UNDO +4 by subtracting 4 from each side:
3x +4 - 4 = 34-4
3x = 30
Next, you must UNDO multiplication by 3. This is done by dividing both sides by 3:
I'm not sure if this is your question. If it is, then please see my lesson plan called "Basic Equation Solving" in the Equations topic of algebra.com. If not, try again.
R^2 at SCC
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