How do you write and solve equations?

Answer 1

You write an equation by saying that one thing is equal to another.

Two simple examples are: x = y and x + 1 = 2. We are saying that whatever is on the left of the equals sign (=) is equal to whatever is on the right.

To answer how you would solve all equations is no small task and would need a very lengthy response!

The basic principle however is that we manipulate the equation until all we have on one side of the equation is a single variable. A variable is an unknown value that is not fixed (i.e. it can vary), such as "x" in the above examples. When we have done this the equation tells us what that variable is equal to.

A very simple example:

x + 1 = 2

x = 2 - 1 ( we have subtracted "1" from both sides of the equation in this step)

x = 1