Thread: Absolutely clueless...

Ok guys i am not only new to these forums, attop of that when it comes to math in general, i am as clueless as a monkey trying to drive a plain...

I do however need answere two 2 question, i need these answeres befor tommorow if possible, BUT the answere is not al i am seeking for, as a matther of fact i am most interested in seeing ( you showing ) how you got the answere..

If annyone could help me in just a few hours you wil be my hero!

Question A: 4x -6 = 2x + 3

Question B: 4x - 12 = 6x +8

Note!: ( the x'(s) you see within the questions are just the letther x and not X as in times *** ammount etc etc)

Manny manny thanks in advanced!

Better yet, why don't YOU show us that you have at least made some effort to try to solve these problems yourself instead of expecting us to do your homework for you.

Here's a hint: Get all the x values on one side first...

I've only ever asked for help on here. So this is the first time I've assisted anybody - hopefully it'll restore the balance!

To solve your equations, you need to isolate x on it's own, as follows:

Original equation.


Add 6 to both sides.


Combine like terms.


subtract 2x from both sides.


Combine like terms.


Divide through by 2 to solve for x


Which leaves us:


or


Now, lets see you do the second one

Unacceptable statement deleted by moderator.

And i am supose to get a SA on this in 4 weeks, these 2 questions are meerely a glimps of what i would get on that SA. According to my teacher, these to questions are not noted on the SA, however there are 45 other questions simulair to these ones, knowing the basic principle of these, and acquiring a wel shown example provided by someone here would help me allot, as so i can wright it down on a peace of paper and carry that arround with me , reading it over and over again and try to print the basic wel shown example into my head, so i can use that knowlage to help me once the official SA starts.

And you have no idea how hard i tried for the last 7 months, as the post says, ''absolutely clueless''

He was being polite.
People like to see you've actually made some effort, rather than just posted a question and expect an answer.

Thanks for helping Maverick.

Original equation. 4x - 12 = 6x + 8


Add 12 both sides. 4x - 12 + 12 = 6x +8 + 12


Combine like terms. ???


subtract 2x from both sides. ??


Combine like terms.??


Divide through by 2 to solve for x????????


Which leaves us: ?

as expected, unfortunetely this is as far as i got befor i lost total track...

Do you know what is meant by "like terms"? How do you know when you can add things together or subtract things?

yes and no i dont.

Jeprejam, calm down, ppl are trying to help, but nobody will just give you the answer with no effort on your part... Please see below:

3 & 4 are like terms
12 & 82 are like terms
-5 & 8 are like terms

7x & 9x are like terms
3x & -7x are like terms
-10x & -7x are like terms

4 & 4x are not like terms
x & 9 are not like terms
14x & 9 are not like terms.

You can only add/subtract like terms together,

This should help you at step 3 of your calculations in post #6

If you know what like terms are you should know when you can add or subtract things... i.e. you can add or subtract like terms only...

So what are your like terms?

eeeh, i got no clue...

I am completely lost, im guesing mainly because 3 different person types are explaining in three different language's...

My dad in Armenian, my teacher in Dutch, and you guys in English...

In dont know whats what annymore, gues i just wasted you guyses times. My excusses.

Originally Posted by jepremjan

eeeh, i got no clue...

I am completely lost, im guesing mainly because 3 different person types are explaining in three different language's...

My dad in Armenian, my teacher in Dutch, and you guys in English...

In dont know whats what annymore, gues i just wasted you guyses times. My excusses.

Maverick in post #3 has already gone through one of these step by step for you, just use that as a model for the other problem.

CB

Some help on the meanings:-
Term: A number or representation of a number
Like: Same type of, alike.

So, 4 and 7 are like, they are normal integers.
4x and 7 are not like, as 4x is a different type of term than just 7.

Meaning you can only subtract or add the same term from both sides.

Hopefully my descriptions were clear/correct.

Perhaps you are confused with the use of a letter mixed in with numbers?
Here's an example of the simplest possible case:

3 + 2 = 5
The 2 is replaced by a letter, could be any letter, make it x:
3 + x = 5
Now you're asked (you don't "see" the 3 + 2 = 5) to figure out what number the x represents.

So you want the x by itself;
if you subtract 3 from the left side: 3 - 3 + x; leaves you with ONLY x, right?

BUT if you do something to one side, you MUST do SAME to other side: 5 - 3
So you now have 3 - 3 + x = 5 - 3 : x = 2

Hope that helps...

On "like terms":
say tou have 3a + 5 + 5b - 2a + 7 - b : a could represent "a"pples and b "b"ananas!
the "like terms" are those with a, then those with b, then those with "nothing"; so:
(3a - 2a) + (5b - b) + (5 + 7) ; so:
a + 4b + 12
Got that?