Question

How can one sixthx − 5 = one fifthx + 2 be set up as a system of equations?

Answer 1

Answer:

6y - x = -30 and 5y - x = 10

Step by Step:

They want you to remove the fractions from the x-values. How can we remove the 1/6 from the x in the first equation? We can multiply the entire equation (both sides) by 6 because it cancels out the 1/6 found in the x-value. This achieves 6y = x - 30 for our first equation. This can be changed to 6y - x = -30.

How can we remove the 1/5 from the x-value in the second equation? We can multiply the entire equation by 5, since that cancels with the 1/5 coefficient found in the x-value. This gets us 5y = x + 10. This can be changed to meet our answer choices to 5y - x = 10.

Answer 2

For problems like these, we can set both sides of the equation equal to y. This is because both sides of the equation are equal to each other. If we were to take the left side of the equation and set it equal to y, the right side would also be equal to y. Similarly, if we were to set the right side of the equation equal to y, the left side of the equation would also be equal to y. Setting both equations equal to y will produce two equations which can be used in a system of equations.

Thus, our answer is:
y = (1/6)x - 5
y = (1/5)x + 2