CREATING A COMMON TERM

You sometimes need to multiply one or both of the simultaneous equations to create a common term
before using the elimination method.

TASK 1 Complete the solutions

Fill in the boxes to complete the solutions.

1 5m – n = 19 (i) 2 4p + 3q = 18 (i)
3m + 2n = 1 (ii) 3p + 2q = 13 (ii)
(i) ´ 2 10m – 2n = 38 (iii)
(i) ´ 3 p + 9q = (iii)
(iii) + (ii)
(ii) ´ 4 p + 8q = (iv)
m=
(iii) – (iv)
m=
q=
Substitute m = into (i):
Substitute q = into (i):
5× – n = 19
4p + 3 ´ = 18
– n = 19
4p + = 18
–n =
4p =
n=
p=
Check: Sub m = and n = into (ii):
Check: Sub p = and q = into (ii):
3× +2× =
3× +2× =
The solution is m = and n =
The solution is p = and q =

TASK 2 Solve simultaneous equations

Find the solutions to the following pairs of equations using the elimination method.

1 a+b=8 2 4m – 5n = 1
3a + 2b = 21 3m + n = –4
TASK 2 Solve simultaneous equations (cont’d)

3 5x + 2y = 4 4 3g – 4h = 13
2x – 3y = 13 2g + 5h = 24

TASK 3 Solve, check and graph

1 Solve the pair of equations: 2 After solving the equations, complete the table
x + 3y = 9 and graph the lines to verify your solution.
2x – y = 4
x + 3y = 9 2x – y = 4
x y y
0
2
3