Question 57717: I have no idea what this is called but a sample problem is ax+by=c and you have to solve for y.
Answer by mszlmb(115)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! Ignore the confusion of a, b, and c. They are just letters which stand for numbers, like x and y. When we are given an equation that is not solvable to finite or real numbers and are asked to 'solve', it means we should rearrange the problem so that the value we must 'solve' for is on one side of the equal sign, isolated from the other variables.
For example to solve the latter ax+by=c for y means to rearrange the equation so that y is isolated, this is relatively simple:
ax+by=c minus by to both sides
ax+by-ax=c-ax the by's to the left of the equal sign cancel out, leaving us
by=c-ax see? We're already closer to isolating the y variable. Divide by b on both sides of the equal sign:
(by)/b=(c-ax)/b Notice on the left, we have b*y/b, which is the same as y because the *b and /b cancel out.
y=(c-ax)/b
There, we have solved for y. This is what it means to solve for a variable. If you have any questions, email or im me.
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