From the course: Learning Algebra: Solving Equations

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Literal equations and fractions

Literal equations and fractions

From the course: Learning Algebra: Solving Equations

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Literal equations and fractions

- Our next example for literal equations is going to be a little trickier, because it's going to contain a fraction. For this problem, we have y equals f plus g divided by three, and we're asked to solve for f. Just like with any equation that contains fractions, we always want to get rid of those fractions. And here, in order to solve for f, we do need to get rid of that three in the denominator. Since this is the only fraction, we can simply multiply by the denominator. So my first job is to get rid of that three by multiplying both sides by three. When I do that, I'm going to end up with three y equals, and remember here, my threes are going to simplify to one, so I'm left with just f plus g. Now I realize that I'm solving for f. Sometimes it helps to circle the variable that you're solving for because it just helps you to figure out what you need to get rid of. Here, we know that we need to get rid of the g. We're going to subtract g from both sides of the equation. I'm going to…

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