4x+2y=8 7x+3y=-10 (I just came up with these on the spot, so the answers might be strange but i should be able to explain nevertheless) First, let's solve the first equation for "y". 4x+2y=8 -4x -4x 2y=8-4x /2 y=4-2x Now that we have "y", let's plug it into the second equation. 7x+3(4-2x)=-10 7x+12-6x=-10 x+12=-10 -12 -12 x=-22 Alright, now we have "x" definitively, let's plug it in to find "y". 4(-22)+2y=8 -88+2y=8 +88 +88 2y=96 /2 y=48 So from this example you can see. You solve one variable in terms of another (solve y as being 4-2x), plug it into the second equation to find one variable's value, then plug that variable's value back in again later to get the first variable's value.
