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In the simple case of a function of one variable, say, h(x), we can solve an equation of the form h(x) = c for some constant c by considering what is known as the inverse function of h. Given a function h : A → B, the inverse function, denoted h −1 and defined as h −1 : B → A, is a function such that
where x is a variable we are interested in solving for, we can use cross-multiplication to determine that x = b c d . {\displaystyle x={\frac {bc}{d}}.} For example, suppose we want to know how far a car will travel in 7 hours, if we know that its speed is constant and that it already travelled 90 miles in the last 3 hours.
To solve this kind of equation, the technique is add, subtract, multiply, or divide both sides of the equation by the same number in order to isolate the variable on one side of the equation. Once the variable is isolated, the other side of the equation is the value of the variable. [37] This problem and its solution are as follows: Solving for x
This counterintuitive result occurs because in the case where =, multiplying both sides by multiplies both sides by zero, and so necessarily produces a true equation just as in the first example. In general, whenever we multiply both sides of an equation by an expression involving variables, we introduce extraneous solutions wherever that ...
This does not reduce the generality, as this can be realized by subtracting the right-hand side from both sides. The most common type of equation is a polynomial equation (commonly called also an algebraic equation) in which the two sides are polynomials. The sides of a polynomial equation contain one or more terms. For example, the equation
This equation is an equation only of y'' and y', meaning it is reducible to the general form described above and is, therefore, separable. Since it is a second-order separable equation, collect all x variables on one side and all y' variables on the other to get: (′) (′) =.
The mass of some objects on the scale is unknown and represents variables. Solving an equation corresponds to adding and removing objects on both sides in such a way that the sides stay in balance until the only object remaining on one side is the object of unknown mass. [145]
The idea is to write the equation as = and try to match and by multiplying and raising both sides by the same value. Then apply the definition of the Lambert W function a ′ e a ′ = c ′ ⇒ a ′ = W ( c ′ ) {\displaystyle a'e^{a'}=c'\Rightarrow a'=W(c')} to isolate the desired variable.