Winniehope Mamboleo

EMS 490 Lesson Plan Resource

Lecture Notes
Lesson: Finding Solutions of 2-Variable Equations

"When working with equations in one variable, you learned to graph the solution set on a number
line. (Give example y=3.
When working with equations with two variables, the solutions are also represented visually but
in two-dimensions in the coordinate plane.
Understand that the equations with two variables can be represented graphically.
The shape that results on the coordinate plane is a visual representation of all the solutions to the
equation.

What does that mean? It means we're not just pulling rabbits out of hats! The equations actually
mean something visually."
An equation with two variables can be anything from y = x to x2 + y2 = 4 to 19x13 = y. Some
are simpler than others, of course, but they all have an x and a y.

That means instead of having an equation with one variable (and therefore one solution), we can
have many different solutions.
Graphically, we can represent these solutions by drawing a curve or line through all the pairs of
solutions (one for x and one for y) that work for that particular equation.
Example: 7x 18 = y
given several x points, can we find ordered pairs of several points to help us construct
the line on the graph? (write ordered set notation on the board, plug in all the x's, carry out
substitution, derive all the y's and add them to the ordered pairs, plot the points, connect them to
find the line of the equation.)
Note that the equation and its graph correspond to one another."
Take a point on the line that is easily identifiable, say (2, -4), and plug the values into the
equation. If we do that, we'll have -4 = 7(2) 18, which simplifies to -4 = -4. This is to
prove that points on the line or curve are valid solutions to the equation, and vice versa.
To prove the opposite. For example, the coordinate (4, 1), which is not on the line, is also not a
solution to our equation. If we plug in the coordinates, we can confirm this: 1 = 7(4) 18 is false
because 1 10. This means (4, 1) isn't a solution to our equation and not a point on the line.

This method can be applied to two-variable equations of higher orders.