You don't. An equation with two variables can be graphed as a line or a curve on x-y coordinates. When you do that, EVERY point on the line or curve satisfies the equation. You can't 'solve' it ... i.e. come up with unique values for 'x' and 'y' ... until you have another equation. It represents another line or curve on the graph, and the 'solution' represents the point (or points) where the graphs of the two equations intersect.
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2+2
You don't use unknown variables to solve an equation. The purpose of solving an equation is to find the value of the variable so that it's no longer unknown.
Your equation has two variables in it ... 'a' and 'x'. So the solution is a four-step process: 1). Get another independent equation that relates the same two variables. 2). Solve one of the equations for one of the variables. 3). Substitute that into the other equation, yielding an equation in a single variable. Solve that one for the single variable. 4). Substitute that value back into the first equation, and solve it for the second variable.
The equation 4y = 2x + 2 cannot just be solved. If you are trying to solve a system, you need as many equations as you have variables (x and y in this case). Since you have two variables, you need two equations.For example, if you had:4y = 2x + 2 AND 2y = 4x + 4, then it would be possible to solve like so....first solve for one of the variables in one of the equations. Let's go for y in the second equation.2y = 4x + 4 ----> 2y/2 = 4x/2 + 4/2 ----> y = 2x + 2.now use this value of y and place it into the first equation and then you can solve for x.4(2x + 2) = 2x + 2 ----> 8x + 8 = 2x + 2 ----> 6x = -6 ----> x = -1now you can replace the -1 into either equation and solve for y4y = 2(-1) + 2 ----> 4y = -2 + 2 ----> 4y = 0 ----> y = 0So, if there is another equation for you to solve with, you can easily use this method to solve for both variables.
a+b=16 is a linear equation in two variables. The variables are a and b. To solve a linear equation in 2 variables we need more information. We need either another equation, or a value to put in for a or b.Since we have neither, there is no more we can do.