Homeschool World Forum

[kygurl]

i am a mother of a 4 yr old and i am studying to get my ged and maybe even go to college someday but not anytime soon.I am struggling with algebra for example 2x+x+3=x+2-5 I dont understand it all the signs is whats gets me Can someone help me understand it better thanks

[Theodore]

x basically represents a number. You don't start out knowing what the number is, and you have to solve the problem to find out.

You can add the same value to both sides of the equation, or subtract the same value from both sides. The idea is to get all the x's on one side, and all the numbers on the other:

2x + x + 3 = x + 2 - 5
2x + x [- x] + 3 = x [- x] + 2 - 5
2x + 3 = 2 - 5
2x + 3 [- 3] = 2 - 5 [- 3]
2x = -6

Then you can divide both sides to get the answer:

2x [/ 2] = -6 [/ 2]
x = -3

So x represents the number -3.
_________________
The Farming Game - Software Edition for PC, Mac, Linux
The board game has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide, garnered many awards, is used by over 2,000 schools, and is used extensively by homeschoolers.