Eli5: I’m struggling to understand linear equations with unknown coefficients

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-p (51+z) = dz+84 if I’m solving for Z
First I distribute
Then I move the x terms and the non z terms to opposite sides of the equation.
Thirdly I factor out a z from the z terms
Then I divide both sides of the equation by the factored set of numbers,
and I have my answer.

Z= 84 + 51p/ -p – d

I know how to solve it and get the correct answer 100% of the time, but I don’t know why Im doing any of these steps, or what the answer even means. In comparison to a normal linear equation where there’s just a variable or a number next to a variable(3, 3x) and you solve for a x and you get a number that you can plug into the equation and check to see if you got the right answer.

In: Mathematics

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Isolating z can tell you how z depends on those other parameters, for example what happens if p gets very large or very small. And sometimes you have letters like π or g that represent known quantities and you want those terms to remain in your answer.

The order of the steps is so that you systematically peel off or undo the operations that were done to z, so you can eventually isolate z. You start from the outside and work your way in, doing the opposite of what you see. If something was added to z, you subtract it. If something was multiplied by z, you divide by it.

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