Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
from both sides of the equation. To remove the coefficient of x, you divide both
sides by 2.
Along a slightly different path, consider the same equation you just worked with.
There is more than one way to solve it. Instead of starting by undoing the
addition, you can start by undoing the multiplication. In this case, you can begin
by dividing. You start off by dividing both sides of the equation by 2:
2
x þ
3
¼
7
2
x
þ
3
2
¼
7
2
:
Undo the multiplication
2
2
x þ
3
2
¼
7
2
3
2
¼
7
2
x þ
3
2
3
2
¼
7
2
3
2
x þ
Undo the addition
:
4
2
x ¼
2
x ¼
When you divide by 2, you end up with fractions. The fraction associated with
the unknown,
x
, however, is 2/2, which is equal to 1. In this way, then, you isolate
the variable x. You can then use subtraction to deal with the fraction that remains
on the left side. To verify that the solution you reached is correct, you insert it
into the original equation:
2
x þ
3
¼
7
2
ð
2
Þþ
3
¼
7
4
þ
3
¼
7
7
¼
7
Approaching Equations in Different Ways
The previous section reveals that you can approach solving equations in dif-
ferent ways. The specific approach you use can be a matter of figuring out the
approach you find easiest. Consider, for example, this approach to solving the
