Why Solve for “Y”?

Name: _________________
he process of taking an equation with two or more variables in it and solving so that one

T of the variables is by itself is called isolating a variable. Instead of getting a number,

which often happens when solving equations, we get a new formula. The formula
expresses the value of one variable in terms of the others. That is, it tells us how to get the value
of one variable when we know the others.
One common use of this skill is to help graph lines. For example, 3x  2 y  6 is the
equation of a line given in standard form. When graphing, we commonly use the slope-
intercept form (y = mx + b), since the slope m and the y-intercept b are clearly visible in the
equation. In order to change the equation from standard form to slope-intercept form, we
must isolate the variable y. In other words, we must solve the equation for y in terms of x.
Let’s investigate this idea and develop a process for isolating a variable.
1. We will begin our investigation with the equation 3x  2 y  6 .
a. Substitute the value x = 4 into the equation 3x  2 y  6 . Isolate the variable y. (Solve
the equation for y.) Show each step clearly.

b. Substitute the value x = -6 into the equation 3x  2 y  6 . Isolate the variable y. (Solve
the equation for y.) Show each step clearly.

c. Now solve the equation 3x  2 y  6 for y without knowing a value for x. Leave your
answer in terms of x. (Leave the variable x in the final answer). Show each step clearly.

Isolating a variable works exactly like solving a normal equation in one variable, except that
2. occasionally
Now try solving this to
you need equation
add or for y : xa variable
subtract y  5 or an expression rather than just a number.

Use this principle to solve each of the following for the variable y .

2. 3x  y  1 3. 3x  2 y  6

Algebra 1 OBJ: Introduce isolating a variable 2-5.A

4. x  5 y  10 5. 3x  4 y  12

6. 5x  2 y  8 7. 7 x  y  6

8. 2x  5 y  8 9. 4 x  7 y  11

Solve each equation for the indicated variable. Show all your work.
10. Solve C   d for d. 11. Solve A  s 2 for s.

12. Solve V  lwh for h. 13. Solve P  2l  2w for w.

1 3 5 2 8 4 1 𝐶 𝑉 𝑝
Answers 4-13: 𝑦 = 𝑥 − 2, 𝑦 = 𝑥 − 3, 𝑦 = 𝑥 − 4, 𝑦 = −7𝑥 − 6, 𝑦 = − 𝑥 + , 𝑦 = 𝑥 − , 𝑑 = , 𝑠 = √𝐴, ℎ = ,𝑤 = −𝑙
5 4 2 5 5 7 7 𝜋 𝑙𝑤 2

Algebra 1 OBJ: Introduce isolating a variable 2-5.B

 Mastery Algebra 1 2-5 Practice B Name: __________________________

Practice
2-5 Literal Equations and Formulas
Form K

Solve each equation for y. Then find the value of y for each value of x.
1. y + 5x = 6; x = –1, 0, 1 2. 8x – 4y = –12; x = –3, –1, 1

3. –3y = 2x – 9; x = –3, 0, 3 4. 5x = –y + 6; x = 1, 2, 3

5. 6y = –3x + 12; x = –4, –2, 0 6. –5y + 10x = 5; x = –2, 0, 2

Solve each equation for p.

7. xp + yp = z 8. pk
n
j

9. a = b + cp 10. p  3
 1
m

Solve each problem. Round to the nearest tenth, if necessary. Use 3.14 for π.
11. What is the width of a rectangle with length 25 in. and area 375 in.2?

12. What is the radius of a circle with circumference 5 cm?

2
13. A triangle has base 15 ft and area 60 ft . What is the height?
[Type text]

Solve each problem. Round to the nearest tenth, if necessary.

14. In baseball, a player’s batting average is calculated by using the formula
Hits
Average = . Find the number of times a player has batted if he has 24 hits and a
At Bats
batting average of approximately 0.320.

15. Dan drove 512 miles in 8 hours. What was his average speed for the trip?

Solve each equation for the given variable.

16. –2z – xy = x + 7 for x a c
17. 8  for a
b d

18. 6qr + 7rs – 2st = –9 for r mn

19. p  ( )for n
5

20. A large box shaped like a rectangular prism needs to be painted.

a. Write a formula for the area A to paint in terms of length l, width w, and height h.

b. Rewrite the formula to find l in terms of A, h, and w.

2
c. If h is 36 in., w is 28 in. and A is 6112 in. , what is the length of the prism?
Mastery Algebra 1
2-5 Solve Literal Equations
Solve for x:
1. 3x  4n  12
Practice Mastery Quiz 2-5 Name:_____________________________
Per: ____
2. x  r  2   16

x 1
3.  3y 4. 5h  2 f  2 x  f
4

5. Solve the following equation for y:

2 x  5 y  10