Solving Equations

To solve an equation, each side of the equation must balance with the other side. One of the most common methods used to solve equations is the balance method.

Example:
Solve the equation 3a + 8 = 26

To solve the equation, the left hand side must balance with the right hand side

The term +8 can be removed from the equation by subtracting 8 from each side.
This gives 3a + 8 - 8 = 26 - 8

This simplifies to 3a = 18

This answer can be checked by substituting a = 6 back into the original equation