Contents

Simultaneous
Equations
problems

of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Solving problems

The cost of theatre tickets for 4 adults and 3 children is

£47.50. The cost for 2 adults and 6 children is £44.
How much does each adult and child ticket cost?
Let’s call the cost of an adult’s ticket a and the cost of a child’s
ticket c. We can write,
4a + 3c = 47.50 1
2a + 6c = 44 2

Dividing equation 2 by 2 gives,

a + 3c = 22 3

We can now subtract equation 3 from equation 1 to

eliminate the terms containing c.

of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Solving problems

4a + 3c = 47.50 1

– a + 3c = 22 3

1 – 3 , 3a = 25.50
divide both sides by 3: a = 8.50

Substitute a = 8.50 in 3:
8.50 + 3c = 22
subtract 8.50 from both sides: 3c = 13.50
divide both sides by 3: c = 4.50
The cost of an adult’s ticket is £8.50 and the cost of a child’s
ticket is £4.50.

of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Solving problems

Remember, when using simultaneous equations to solve

problems:
1) Decide what letters to use to represent each of the
unknown values.
2) Use the information given in the problem to write down two
equations in terms of the two unknown values.
3) Solve the simultaneous equations using the most
appropriate method.
4) Check the values by substituting them back into the original
problem.

of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Contents

A5 Functions and graphs

A A5.1 Function machines

A A5.2 Tables and mapping diagrams

A A5.3 Finding functions

A A5.4 Inverse functions

AA5.5 Graphs of functions

of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Coordinate pairs

When we write a coordinate, for example,

(3, 5)
(6, 2)

x-coordinate y-coordinate

the first number is called the x-coordinate and the second

number is called the y-coordinate.
y-coordinate.

Together, the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate are called a

coordinate pair.

of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006
 Drawing graphs of functions

Given a function, we can find coordinate points that

obey the function by constructing a table of values.
Suppose we want to plot points that obey the function

y=x+3

We can use a table as follows:

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
y=x+3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

(–3, 0) (–2, 1) (–1, 2) (0, 3) (1, 4) (2, 5) (3, 6)

of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Drawing graphs of functions

To draw a graph of y = x – 2: y

1) Complete a table of values:

y=x–2

x –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3
y = x – 2 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1
O x
2) Plot the points on a coordinate grid.

3) Draw a line through the points.

4) Label the line.

5) Check that other points on the line fit the rule.

of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Drawing graphs of functions

0 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Contents

A5 Simultaneous equations

AA5.1 Solving simultaneous equations graphically

A A5.2 The elimination method

A A5.3 The substitution method

A A5.4 Simultaneous linear and quadratic equations

A A5.5 Problems leading to simultaneous equations

1 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Simultaneous equations

Equations in two unknowns have an infinite number of solution

pairs. For example,
x+y=3
is true when x=1 and y=2
x=3 and y=0
x = –2 and y=5 and so on …
y
We can represent the set
3
of solutions on a graph: x+y=3

0 x
3

2 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Simultaneous equations

Another equation in two unknowns will also have an infinite

number of solution pairs. For example,
y–x=1
is true when x=1 and y=2
x=3 and y=4
x = –2 and y = –1 and so on …
y
This set of solutions can
3
also be represented in a
y–x=1
graph:

0 3 x

3 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Simultaneous equations

There is one pair of values that solves both these equations:

x+y=3
y–x=1
We can find the pair of values by drawing the lines x + y = 3
and y – x = 1 on the same graph.
y y–x=1
The point where the two lines
3
intersect gives us the solution to both
equations.
This is the point (1, 2).
0 3 x
x+y=3 At this point x = 1 and y = 2.

4 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 The equation of a straight line

The general equation of a straight line can be written as:

y = mx + c
The value of m tells us the gradient of the line.

The value of c tells us where the line crosses the y-axis.

This is called the y-intercept and it has the coordinate (0, c).

For example, the line y = 3x + 4 has a gradient of 3 and

crosses the y-axis at the point (0, 4).

5 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 The gradient and the y-intercept

Complete this table:

equation gradient y-intercept

y = 3x + 4 3 (0, 4)
x 1
y= –5 (0, –5)
2 2
y = 2 – 3x –3 (0, 2)

y=x 1 (0, 0)

y = –2x – 7 –2 (0, –7)

6 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Practice book P99

7 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Rearranging equations into the form y = mx + c

Sometimes the equation of a straight line graph is not given in

the form y = mx + c.

The equation of a straight line is 2y + x = 4.

Find the gradient and the y-intercept of the line.

We can rearrange the equation by transforming both sides in

the same way:
2y + x = 4
2y = –x + 4
–x + 4
y=
2
y=– 1 x+2
2
8 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005
 Rearranging equations into the form y = mx + c

Sometimes the equation of a straight line graph is not given in

the form y = mx + c.

The equation of a straight line is 2y + x = 4.

Find the gradient and the y-intercept of the line.

Once the equation is in the form y = mx + c we can determine

the value of the gradient and the y-intercept.

y=– 1 x+2
2

So the gradient of the line is – 1 and the y-intercept is 2.

2

9 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Pairs

0 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Matching statements

1 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Graphs parallel to the y-axis

All graphs of the form

x = c,
where c is any number, will be parallel to the y-axis
and will cut the x-axis at the point (c, 0).

x = –10 x = –3 x=4 x=9

2 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Graphs parallel to the y-axis

All graphs of the form

x = c,
where c is any number, will be parallel to the y-axis
and will cut the x-axis at the point (c, 0).

x = –10 x = –3 x=4 x=9

3 of 49 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Graphs parallel to the x-axis

All graphs of the form

y = c,
where c is any number, will be parallel to the x-axis
and will cut the y-axis at the point (0, c).

y
y=5
y=3

x
y = –2

y = –5

4 of 49 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Match the equations to the graphs

5 of 49 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 What is the equation?

What is the equation of

Look at this diagram:
the line passing through
y the points
10
A a) A and E? x = 2
G H
b) A and F? y=x+6
5 B
F c) B and E? y = x – 2
D C
x d) C and D? y = 2
-5 0 E 5 10
e) E and G? y = 2 – x
f) A and C? y = 10 – x

6 of 43 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Graphs parallel to the x-axis

What do these coordinate pairs have in common?

(0, 1), (4, 1), (–2, 1), (2, 1), (1, 1) and (–3, 1)?

The y-coordinate in each pair is equal to 1.

Look at what happens when these points are plotted on a graph.
y All of the points lie on a straight
line parallel to the x-axis.
y=1
Name five other points
x
that will lie on this line.

This line is called y = 1.

7 of 49 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Graphs parallel to the y-axis

What do these coordinate pairs have in common?

(2, 3), (2, 1), (2, –2), (2, 4), (2, 0) and (2, –3)?

The x-coordinate in each pair is equal to 2.

Look what happens when these points are plotted on a graph.
y All of the points lie on a straight
line parallel to the y-axis.

Name five other points

x
that will lie on this line.

x=2 This line is called x = 2.

8 of 49 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

 Gradients of straight-line graphs

The gradient of a line is a measure of how steep the line is.

The gradient of a line can be positive, negative or zero if,
moving from left to right, we have:

an upwards slope a horizontal line a downwards slope an upwards slope

y y y y

O x O x O x x

Positive gradient Zero gradient Negative gradient

If a line is vertical
its gradient cannot
be specified.
9 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006
 Finding the gradient from two given points

If we are given any two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) on a line we
can calculate the gradient of the line as follows:
y
change in y (x2, y2)
the gradient =
change in x
y2 – y1
(x1, y1)
Draw a right-angled triangle
x2 – x1
between the two points on
the line as follows:

O
y – y1 x
the gradient = 2
x2 – x1

0 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Practice book p100
no 20

1 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Substituting values into equations

A line with the equation y = mx + 5 passes through the

point (3, 11).

What is the value of m?

To solve this problem we can substitute x = 3 and y = 11

into the equation y = mx + 5.
This gives us: 11 = 3m + 5
Subtracting 5: 6 = 3m
Dividing by 3: 2=m
m=2
The equation of the line is therefore y = 2x + 5.

2 of 49 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

ons with no solutions
Sometimes pairs of simultaneous equations produce graphs
that are parallel.
Parallel lines never meet, and so there is no point of
intersection.
When two simultaneous equations produce
graphs which are parallel there are no solutions.

How can we tell whether the graphs of two

lines are parallel without drawing them?

Two lines are parallel if they have the same gradient.

3 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

ons with no solutions
We can find the gradient of the line given by a linear
equation by rewriting it in the form y = mx + c.
The value of the gradient is given by the value of m.
Show that the simultaneous equations
y – 2x = 3
2y = 4x + 1
have no solutions.
Rearranging these equations in the form y = mx + c gives,
y = 2x + 3
y = 2x + ½
The gradient m is 2 for both equations and so there are no
solutions.

4 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006

 Parallel lines
If two lines have the same gradient they are parallel.

Show that the lines 2y + 6x = 1 and y = –3x + 4 are parallel.

We can show this by rearranging the first equation so that

it is in the form y = mx + c.
2y + 6x = 1
subtract 6x from both sides: 2y = –6x + 1
–6x + 1
divide both sides by 2: y=
2
y = –3x + ½
The gradient m is –3 for both lines, so they are parallel.

5 of 52 © Boardworks Ltd 2006