Solving for x Equations Worksheets
Solving equations is something that teachers teach and then reteach. It is a continual process in many cases. If you help students understand the importance of the equal sign, everything flows much better. When you see this symbol, it means that what is on the left is the same as what is on the right. This also means that we can move things from one side to the other by simply applying the opposite operations. These worksheets and lessons help students to understand the steps that they should take to solve an equation. They go further to help explain how the steps they took to complete these problems. The more practice that student get solving for x, the better.
Aligned Standard: HSA-REI.A.1
- Explaining How To Solve It Step-by-step Lesson- Solving an equation is one thing, but can you explain this to another person. That is a real test.
- Guided Lesson - The problems are somewhat routine two-step equations. We start with a soft pop-up.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - They all follow the same format. What baffles me is when a kid will get one right and all the others wrong.
- Practice Worksheet - Explain all the steps in the process of solving it.
- Matching Worksheet - Match the equations to the value of the missing variable.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
Homework Sheets
You might be able to solve equations with ease, but can you explaining it.
- Homework 1 - The first thing we need to do here is get all the variables on one side (in this case – the left side) and all the numbers on the other.
- Homework 2 - After that, you have to add those two numbers.
- Homework 3 - What is left now is to get rid of the number next to the variable.
Practice Worksheets
This reminds of my public speaking class. They asked me to explain how to tie your shoes, hardest day ever!
- Practice 1 - Explain in detail how to solve for the variable x.
- Practice 2 - These can be completed in two steps.
- Practice 3 - We use slightly larger operations here.
Math Skill Quizzes
I focused more on the skills for the quiz than the explanations.
- Quiz 1 - Make sure to number your steps, as you explain them.
- Quiz 2 - This is a good tool, if students are not strong with their operations.
- Quiz 3 - They need extra space to work on this one.
How to Solve For x in Equations
The trickiest part of algebra is equations and how to solve them. What we mean by solving them is to rearrange or manipulate the equation to find an unknown variable. The most common symbol we use to represent these unknown values is the letter x. Here, we will make it as easy as possible for you to learn how to solve for x.
Before solving equations, let's have a clearer image of what equations are. Think of equations as balance. They consist of an "equals" sign, which means that whatever is on the right side of the sign is equal to what is on the left side. The equal sign is the midpoint and whatever operations you perform on the left side also has to be done on the right side as well.
When we are solving for x, we are shifting that balance around to get x by itself. Let’s say that you’re solving the equation for the value of x, so you have to place x on one side so that it gets easier for you to solve. Now let's take an example: x + 9 = 12
On the left side you have x being added to 9 to make 12. To get x by itself we need to undo what is being done to it. In this case, since 9 is being added to it, we would need to do the opposite to it. So we subtract 9 from both sides, to get x by itself. When we subtract 9 from the left side, we are left with just x. When we subtract the right side by 9, we are left with 3. Hence, the value of x is 3.
x = 12 - 9, x = 3
Basic Strategy
When you are trying to solve an equation for an unknown variable (x), the first thing you need to do is identify the location of that variable. Is it on the left or the right of the equals sign? The next step is to simplify each side of the equation by working through parentheses and combining any like terms. Once all that is done, we work step by step to slowly undo any operations or remove values that are being applied to the variable. Remember that the addition and subtraction operations are the inverse of one another. The same is true of multiplication and division. In the end, we want to get x by itself.