Linear Equations in One Unknown

Book 1A Chapter 3 Linear Equations in One Unknown

 Warm-up Exercise

Identify the like terms in each of the following. (1 – 6)

1. 6x, 4y, x

3 1 2
2. a, a, a
4 5 3

3. z, 2z2, 3z, 4z4

4. –ab, 5ab, b2a, ba

5. x2, 3, 2y2, 8, 6xy

6. 6pq2, –4qp2, q2p, 2pq

Simplify each of the following expressions. (7 – 10)

7. x + 2x + 5x

8. 6w – 4w + 3 + 5

9. 5m – 6n + 4n + 7m – 2m – 9m

10. 3uv – uv2 + 4vu – u2v

If x = –5 and y = 2, find the value of w in each of the following formulae. (11 – 14)
11. w = x + y

12. w = 3y – 8x

1 2
13. w = xy
4

14. w = 2x2 + xy – 30

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Book 1A Chapter 3

3.1 Introduction to Linear Equations in One Unknown

Demonstration 1
Solve each of the following equations. 1. Solve each of the following equations.
(a) x + 5 = 3 (a) x – 2 = 4
(b) –2x = 6 (b) 7x = 35
Solution

(a) x + 5 = 3
x=3–5
= –2
(b) –2x = 6
6
x=
−2
= –3

Demonstration 2
Solve the equation 3x + 7 = –5. 2. Solve the equation 4x – 18 = 10.
Solution

3x + 7 = –5
3x = –5 – 7
3x = –12
− 12
x=
3
= –4

Demonstration 3
Solve the equation 6 – x = –3. 3. Solve the equation 1 – x = 7.
Solution

6 – x = –3
–x = –3 – 6
–x = –9
−9
x=
−1
=9
Alternative Method
6 – x = –3
6 = –3 + x
x=6+3
=9

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

Demonstration 4
Solve each of the following equations. 4. Solve each of the following equations.
x−7 x+8
(a) = –2 (a) =6
3 2
(b) 6(x + 4) = 15 (b) 3(x – 1) = 4
Solution

x−7
(a) = –2
3
x – 7 = –2  3
x – 7 = –6
x = –6 + 7
=1
(b) 6(x + 4) = 15
15
x+4=
6
5
x= –4
2
3
= −
2

Solve each of the following equations. (5 – 28)

5. x + 4 = 10 6. y+8=5

7. m–9=3 8. n – 2 = –10

9. 4p = –12 10. 6q = 8

h 5h
11. =4 12. = –6
7 4

13. 2x + 3 = –9 14. 6y – 7 = 5

15. –m + 1 = 8 16. –4n – 9 = 9

17. 7 – p = 3 18. 15 – p = 8

19. 6 – 4h = 10 20. 8 – 5k = –7

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Book 1A Chapter 3

x−9 x+6
21. =4 22. = –3
2 5

p 2q
23. +1=6 24. – 7 = –5
3 5

25. 3(u + 5) = 15 26. 8(v – 2) = 56

27. –4(m – 6) = 28 28. –9(n + 7) = 30

Solve each of the following equations. (29 – 44)

29. 2(4x + 1) = –6 30. 7(2y – 3) = 49

31. 5 – (3p + 8) = 9 32. 4 – (6 – q) = 7

3(h − 1) 6( k + 7 )
33. = –3 34. = 18
4 5

7u + 5 9v − 13 1
35. =9 36. =−
6 8 2
1 1
37. (2 – m) = –4 38. (5 – 4n) = –3
3 5

− (8c − 3) 4(1 − 2d )
39. =1 40. =2
7 3

u+2 6v − 4
41. +1=3 42. –7=9
4 5

x−9 9 − 4y
43. 8 – =6 44. 3 – = 12
3 7

45. Write suitable numbers into □, △ and ○ such that the following equation in x
□ x+ △ = ○
has the solution x = 5.

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

x−4
46. David solves the equation 3 – = 11 as follows.
2
x−4
3– = 11
2
3 – x – 4 = 11
–1 = 11 + x
x = 12
Are all David’s steps correct? If they are not, correct the wrong steps.

Multiple Choice Questions

47. Which of the following pairs of equations have the same solution?
I. x + 3 = 5, x – 3 = –5
II. 4y + 1 = 9, 3y – 2 = 4
III. 2(6 – z) = 8, 3(z – 1) = 12
A. I only
B. II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II and III

48. Which of the following equations have the same solution?

2x −1
I. = –1
5
8− x
II. +4=6
3
4 − 5x
III. 6 – =8
3
A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. II and III only
D. No two equations have the same solution.

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Book 1A Chapter 3

3.2 More about Solving Equations

Demonstration 1
Solve the equation 5x = 63 – 2x. 1. Solve the equation 4x = 9 + x.
Solution

5x = 63 – 2x
5x + 2x = 63
7x = 63
63
x=
7
=9

Demonstration 2
Solve the equation 5(2x – 7) = 6x + 13. 2. Solve the equation 2(4x – 27) = –10x.
Solution

5(2x – 7) = 6x + 13
10x – 35 = 6x + 13
10x – 6x = 35 + 13
4x = 48
48
x=
4
= 12

Demonstration 3
5x 2x 3x x
Solve the equation − = 7. 3. Solve the equation − = 4.
4 3 5 2
Solution

5x 2x
− =7
4 3
 5x 2x 
 −   12 = 7  12
 4 3 
5x 2x
 12 −  12 = 84
4 3
15x – 8x = 84
7x = 84
x = 12

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

Solve each of the following equations. (4 – 35)

4. a+a=6 5. 2b – 5b – 3 = 0

6. 5x – 4x + 2 = 0 7. y – 8 – 9y = 2

8. 7u – 8 = 3u 9. 21 + v = 4v

10. 3p = 25 – 2p 11. –4q = 5q – 72

12. 3 – m = m + 9 13. 2n – 9 = 36 + 7n

14. h + (2h + 15) = 0 15. 2k + (3k – 8) = 7

16. 4p – (p + 9) = 3 17. q – (8 – q) = 0

18. 3(x – 2) = 8 19. 7(4 – 5y) = –63

20. 2(8 – 3r) + 5 = 0 21. 16 – 6(1 + 7s) = 0

22. s = 5(3 – s) 23. 9(t – 12) = 5t

24. 4(e – 7) = e –18 25. 6(2f + 7) = 3 – f

26. 5(4 – 3h) = 2h – 31 27. 7k + 8 = –(24 – k)

a 1
28. a + = 14 29. b – b =6
6 4

x x y y
30. + = 15 31. – =6
2 4 3 5

3u 9
32. u = 5 – 33. v = v + 20
7 4

9s 4t 6t
34. 20 – 3s = 35. – 15 = 8 –
5 3 7

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Book 1A Chapter 3

Solve each of the following equations. (36 – 55)

36. 5p – 12 = 4p + 8 – 9p 37. 6q – 28 + 7q = 3 + 4q + 5

38. 2(4x – 3) – 3(1 – 2x) = 12 39. 4(y + 6) + 3(7 – 4y) = 33

40. 9(5 – 3u) = 5(u + 7) 41. 8(6 – 4v) = 5(13 – 3v)

42. 7(2 – m) – 4 = m + 8 43. 3(1 + 5n) – 4 = 4(2n + 9) + 5

44. 3[r + 2(1 – r)] = 8 45. 9[4s – 3(2 – s)] – 2 = 0

46. 2[x – 4(5 – x)] = 3x 47. 6[5(y + 4) – 7y] = 13y

e −8 f +6 7
48. =e 49. = f
5 7 4

s−4 s+5 3t − 8 6 − 5t
50. = 51. =
2 3 9 7

2h 3h − 4 7k − 9 8
52. +1= 53. – k=5
3 2 6 5

3− m m +1 m + 6 n 5 − 3n 7n + 10
54. + = 55. + = –n
4 7 5 3 2 8

56. Write suitable numbers into □, △ and ○ such that the following equation in x
□ x + 5 = △x – ○
has the solution x = –3.

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

Multiple Choice Questions

57. Solve the equation 5[2 – 3(1 – u)] = 4(1 – u).
9
A. −
11
9
B.
19
10
C.
19
6
D.
11

58. Which of the following equations have the same solution?

I. 4x – 5 = 6x + 7
5
II. 3(x + 1) = (9 – 4x)
2
7 x + 4 5x + 8
III. =
5 3
A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. II and III only
D. None of them have the same solution.

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Book 1A Chapter 3

3.3 Applications of Linear Equations in One Unknown

Demonstration 1
Nancy has a number of novels. Mick has 5 less 1. Tanya has a number of marbles. Alex has 3
novels than her. If Mick has 4 novels, how many times as many marbles as her. If Alex has 18
novels does Nancy have? marbles, how many marbles does Tanya have?
Solution

Let n be the number of novels Nancy has.

n–5=4 Checking:
n=4+5 ∵ 9–5=4
∴ Nancy has 9 novels.
=9
∴ Nancy has 9 novels.

Demonstration 2
At Christmas, the number of Jenny’s presents is 3
less than 2 times the number of Ann’s presents. If
Jenny has 7 presents, find the number of Ann’s
presents.
Solution
2. In a theme park, the price of a child’s ticket is
$40 higher than half of the price of an adult’s
ticket. Each child’s ticket costs $200. How
much is each adult’s ticket?

Let x be the number of Ann’s presents.

2x – 3 = 7 Checking:
2x = 7 + 3 ∵ 25–3=7
∴ The number of Ann’s
2x = 10 presents is 5.
10
x= =5
2
∴ The number of Ann’s presents is 5.

Demonstration 3
Janet’s age is 3 more than 4 times her cousin’s. If 3. Flora has 5 times as many CDs as Stephen. If
the sum of their ages is 38, how old is her cousin? Stephen has 12 CDs less than Flora, find the
Solution number of Stephen’s CDs.
Let p be her cousin’s age. Then Janet’s age is 4p +
3.
p + (4p + 3) = 38 Checking:
5p + 3 = 38 If her cousin’s age is 7,
then Janet’s age is
5p = 38 – 3 4  7 + 3 = 31.
∵ 31 + 7 = 38
5p = 35 ∴ Her cousin’s age is 7.
35
p=
5
=7
∴ Her cousin is 7 years old.

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

4. Add 6 to m is 15. Find m.

5. n minus 4 is 3. Find n.

6. 2 times x plus 7 is 23. Find x.

7. 9 minus half of y is 6. Find y.

8. The price of a kettle is $r. Bob pays $450 for the kettle and the change is $280. Find r.

9. Mary originally has 36 cookies and she buys n more cookies. After eating 10 cookies, 40 cookies are
left. Find n.

10. The length, the width and the area of a rectangle is 8 cm, w cm and 20 cm2 respectively. Find w.

11. The perimeter of a square of side s cm is 36 cm. Find s.

12. The weight of a mango is w g. A watermelon weighs 200 g more than 3 mangos.
(a) Express the weight of the watermelon in terms of w.
(b) If the weight of the watermelon is 1250 g, find the weight of the mango.

13. The price of each issue of a comic is $p. Ben lacks $16 for 7 issues.
(a) Express the amount Ben has in terms of p.
(b) It is given that Ben has $180. Find the price of each issue of the comic.

14. Each hot dog costs $d. If Pierre pays $100 for 4 hot dogs, the change is $36.
(a) Find the price of each hot dog.
(b) If Pierre has $120, how many hot dogs can he buy?

15. Tony is x years old now. 9 years later, two times his age will be 48.
(a) Find x.
(b) Find his age 5 years ago.

16. A convenience store has n packs of 6 chocolate bars. After selling 3 packs, 90 bars are left.
(a) Find n.
(b) After selling m more packs, 72 bars are left. Find m.

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Book 1A Chapter 3

17. A novel has P pages. A dictionary has twice as many pages as the novel. They together have 1800
pages.
(a) Find P.
(b) How many pages does the dictionary have?

18. An orange has s seeds. A sweet melon has 4 times as many seeds as the orange. The sweet melon has 18
seeds more than the orange.
(a) Find s.
(b) Find the number of seeds of the sweet melon.

19. The monthly rent of a property was $R last year. The monthly rent this year is $4000 higher than 3
times that last year. It is given that the monthly rent this year is $20 000 higher than that last year.
(a) Find the monthly rent last year.
(b) Find the monthly rent this year.

20. There were x visitors to a theme park last month. A new facility is introduced this month and the
number of visitors this month is 15 000 more than that last month.
(a) Express the number of visitors this month in terms of x.
(b) If the total number of visitors in the two months is 30 000, find x.

21. Keith’s hourly wage is $50 less than 3 times Janet’s. If Keith’s hourly wage is $70, find Janet’s hourly
wage.

22. On a certain day, the lowest temperature of Moscow is 9C higher than 5 times that of London. The
lowest temperature of Moscow is –46C.
(a) Find the lowest temperature of London.
(b) Which place is warmer? Explain your answer.

23. A monitor is $600 more expensive than a hard disk. A mainboard is twice as expensive as a monitor.
The price of a mainboard is $3100.
(a) Find the price of the hard disk.
(b) Henry has $5000. Can he afford a monitor, a hard disk and a mainboard? Explain your answer.

24. In a year, the number of films Jack watches is 5 times the number of films Queenie watches. If they
together watch 24 films, find the number of films each of them watches.

25. The number of schools in city A is one-third of that in city B. If city B has 18 schools more than city A,
find the number of schools in city A.

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

26. In a certain month, Oscar sells 6 cars more than Jackie. If they together sell 30 cars, how many cars
does Jackie sell?

27. In a bus, the occupied seats are 9 seats more than the empty seats. If there are 57 seats in the bus, how
many seats are occupied?

28. The area of Lamma Island is 1.5 km2 less than 6 times that of Cheung Chau. It is known that the total
area of the two islands is 16 km2. Is Cheung Chau larger than Lamma Island? Explain your answer.

29. The total number of $5 coins and $2 coins is 14 in a wallet.

(a) Let m be the number of $5 coins. Express the number of $2 coins in terms of m.
(b) The total value of the $5 coins is $35 greater than the total value of the $2 coins. Find the total
value of the coins.

30. In a kiosk, the total price of a chicken leg and a rice dumpling is $17.5. Four chicken legs is as
expensive as three rice dumplings.
(a) Find the price of a chicken leg.
(b) How much should Ben pay for two rice dumplings and a chicken leg?

31. In a fraction before reducing, the sum of the numerator and the denominator is 36. Find the numerator
5
and the denominator of the fraction before reducing if its value is .
7

32. Leon’s monthly tutition fee is $2400 less than Nancy’s. Half of Nancy’s monthly tutition fee is $750
higher than Leon’s. How much is their total monthly tutition fee?

33. The number of Frankie’s books is 5 more than twice the number of George’s books. If each of them
4
buys 8 more books in a book fair, then the number of George’s books is of the number of Frankie’s
7
books.
(a) Let m be the number of George’s books. Complete the following table.
George Frankie
Actual number of
m
books
New number of
books
(b) Find the actual number of books Frankie has.

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Book 1A Chapter 3

34. Dan and Cindy have the same number of sweets originally. After Dan eats 8 of his sweets and Cindy
eats 17 of her sweets, the number of Cindy’s sweet is two-fifth of the number of Dan’s sweets.
(a) Find the number of sweets each of them originally has.
(b) After eating the sweets, how many sweets does Dan have?

35. Edison drives from town A to town B and then to town C. The time spent on travelling from A to B is
two-third of the total travelling time. If he takes 9 minutes longer travelling from A to B and 6 minutes
shorter travelling from B to C, the time spent on travelling from A to B becomes 5 times that from B to
C. Find the total actual travelling time.

36. Jason’s age is one-fourth of his father’s age. 28 years later, Jason’s age will be three-fifth of his father’s
age.
(a) How old was Jason’s father when Jason was born?
(b) How old was Jason when his age was one-fifth of his father’s age?

37. The number of Carrie’s cats is four-seventh of the number of Sonia’s. If Carrie gives 4 cats to Sonia,
then the number of Carrie’s cats becomes two-ninth of the number of Sonia’s.
(a) Let n be the number of Sonia’s cats. Complete the following table.
Carrie Sonia

Actual number of
n
cats

New number of
cats
(b) How many cats does Carrie actually have?

38. The figure shows a circular target. In each shot, 8 marks and 1 mark will
II
be given if regions I and II are hit respectively. David hits the target 14
times. Two shots hitting region I are wrongly counted as hitting region II. I
The marks he gets is four-fifth of the marks he should get. How many
marks should he get?

39. In a sushi restaurant, the price of each plate of sushi is $p. Jenny visits the restaurant with a voucher.
The following facts are known:

(1) The total price of 15 plates of sushi is $30 below the face value of the voucher.
(2) If she eats 20 plates of sushi, she needs an extra amount of $10 to pay the bill.

(a) Express the face value of the voucher in terms of p according to (1).
(b) Express the face value of the voucher in terms of p according to (2).
(c) Using (a) and (b), find the price of a plate of sushi.

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 Linear Equations in One Unknown

40. Bottles of coca-cola, packs of potato chips and trays of meat balls are bought at $12, $8 and $60 each
respectively. The number of bottles of coca-cola bought is half of the number of packs of potato chips
bought which is 3 times the number of trays of meat balls bought.
(a) Can the total food cost be $408? Explain your answer.
(b) Can the total food cost be $340? Explain your answer.

41. The general term an of the sequence 77, 74, 71, 68, … is an.
(a) Find an.
(b) Find the value of n such that an = –70.
(c) Can an be zero? Explain your answer.

42. Each of the following figures is formed by arrows.

(a) Find the number of arrows in the nth figure.

(b) Consider the nth and (n + 1)th figures. 15 times the number of arrows in one of them is greater
than 12 times the number of arrows in the other one by 165. Find the number of arrows in each of
the two figures.

43. In a magic square, 1, 2, 3, … , 9 are arranged into a square grid, in a way that the numbers in all rows,
columns and diagonals have the same sum. One possible magic square is shown below.

4 9 2 4 9 2 4 9 2

3 5 7 3 5 7 3 5 7

8 1 6 8 1 6 8 1 6
Row: Column: Diagonal:
8 + 1 + 6 = 15 9 + 5 + 1 = 15 4 + 5 + 6 = 15

(a) Jeff claims that the sum of numbers in each row of any magic square is 15. Do you agree? Explain
your answer. [Hint: Consider the sum of all numbers in a magic square.]
(b) Is there a magic square with the given arrangement of 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as shown below? Explain
your answer.
4

5 1 6

m + 1 2m − 1 m−7
(c) Is there a value of m such that , and are numbers in a column of a magic square?
2 3 6
Explain your answer.

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Book 1A Chapter 3

Multiple Choice Questions

44. The price of a lamp is $r. Bob pays $500 for the lamp and the change is $360. Find the price of the
lamp.
A. $140
B. $240
C. $640
D. $860

45. In a tray, n of the 36 buns are cream buns. If 4 more cream buns are put in the tray, then one-fourth of
the buns in the tray are cream buns. Find the actual number of cream buns in the tray.
A. 5
B. 6
C. 9
D. 10

46. A pen is $1 cheaper than a stapler. Their total price is $10. Find the price of the pen.
A. $4.5
B. $5
C. $5.5
D. $9

47. The figure shows a trapezium, whose height and area are 12 and 156
d+3
respectively. The perimeter of the trapezium is
A. 5. 2d + 3 3d – 2
B. 18.
C. 52. 5d – 7

D. 60.

48. A two-digit number is 9 times its units digit. The sum of the two digits is 12. Find the two-digit number.
A. 32
B. 48
C. 60
D. no such two-digit number

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