Question

Jamal states that ax + b = a(x + c), given a, b, and c are not equal to 0. What must be the value of c for Jamal's statement to be true?

Answer 1

ANSWER

For Jamal statement to be true,

$c = \frac{b}{a}$

EXPLANATION

The given statement is:

ax + b = a(x + c)

We expand the left hand side to obtain,

ax + b = ax + ac

Subtract ax from from both sides of the equation.

b=ac

We know that, a≠0 , so we can divide through by 'a'.

$\frac{b}{a} = c$