EQUATIONS IN GENERAL

An equation is a statement that two expressions are equal. The two expressions are separated by
an equal sign “=”. An equation has two sides or members, the left side or member and the right side
or member.

Numbers which, when substituted for the variables, make the two sides of an equation equal are said
to satisfy, or to be a SOLUTION of, the equation. The totality of the solution is called the SOLUTION
SET.

An algebraic equation is a statement of equality between two algebraic expressions. Some books use
the term polynomial equation. The degree of such an equation is the degree of the term of highest
degree present in the equation.

Ex. xyz2 + 3xz = 2x3y + 3z2 is of degree 3 in x,1 in y

TYPES OF EQUATIONS
1. CONDITIONAL EQUATION
- an equation which is satisfied by some, but not all, of the values of the variables for which the
members of the equation are defined.

Examples: 1) In x – 3 = 4, the equation is true if and only if the value of x is 7 (that is the condition) and
there can be no other value of x. If we take a different value of x, then the
equation is not satisfied. In this case the solution or solution set is {7} or 7 is
the root of the equation.

2) x2 – 2x – 15 = 0
* This equation can be solved by factori ng then equate the factors to zero, thus
(x – 5) (x + 3) = 0
x–5=0; x=5
x + 3 = 0 ; x = -3

Checking: substitute x=5 and x=3 to the original equation

The solution or solution set is {5, -3}

2. IDENTITY
- an equation which is satisfied by all values of the variables for which the members of the
equation are defined.

Examples: 1. The trigonometric identities are examples of this type of equation.

1
Sec A = , here any or all values of A will satisfy the equation
cos A

2. x2 – 2x – 15 = (x – 5) (x + 3), here the members of the equation are equal because one
member is the product of the other side which are the factors.
So any value assigned to x will satisfy the equation.

LINEAR EQUATIONS

An equation is called linear if it is of degree 1 and quadratic if it is of degree 2. Similarly the words
cubic, quartic and quintic refer to equations of degree 3, 4, and 5 respectively.
A solution of an equation in one variable is also called a ROOT of the equation.

Examples: 1) x – 3 = 4 , linear equation

2
2) x – 2x – 15 = 0 , not a linear equation

A LINEAR EQUATION is an equation of the first degree in its variable or variables. It has the form

ax + b = 0 or ax + by + c = 0

where x and y are the variables and a, b and c are constants and a≠0.

Examples:
1) 2X + y = 0 is linear eqn bec the variables x and y are of the first degree
2) 2x + y – z = 2 is a linear eqn
3) 2x2 + y = 3 is NOT a linear eqn, it is a quadratic eqn because the exponent of one of the
variables is 2

* The graph of a linear equation is a straight line.

Solving Linear Equations:

O Eliminate parentheses using the distributive property, then combine any like terms.
O Use the Addition Property of Equality to write the equation with all variable terms on one side,
and all constants on the other. Simplify each side. We often use the term TRANSPOSE OR
TRANSPOSITION to refer to this property.
O Use the Multiplication (or Division) Property of Equality to obtain an equation of the form x =
constant.
O For applications, answer in complete sentence and include any units of measure indicated.

SOLUTION OF LINEAR EQUATIONS IN ONE VARIABLE

EXAMPLES.
1. x + 3 = 7 🡪 transpose 3
x =7–3
x=4

2. 3x – 7 = 5 🡪 transpose 7
3x = 7 + 5
3x = 12 🡪 Divide the equation by 3 or multiply by 1/3
3
x=4

3. 3x – 4 = 5ax + 2c ( a nd c are constants) 🡪 collect terms with variables on left side and constants
on right side by transposition
3x – 5ax = 2c + 4 🡪 factor out x
x (3 – 5a) = 2c + 4 🡪 divide the eqn by (3-5a)
(3 – 5a)

x = 2c + 4
3 – 5a
 4 2 x−10
4. x+2 - x−2 = x 2−4 🡪 multiply the equation by the LCD, (x + 2)(x – 2)

4(x – 2) – 2(x + 2) = x – 10 🡪 simplify

4x – 8 – 2x – 4 = x – 10 🡪 collect terms and transpose
4x – 2x – x = -10 +8 + 4
x = 2 - reject this value because it does not satisfy the equation, we have an “extraneous
root”. The equation does not have a solution.