Algebra II For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2

Toeing the Straight Line: Linear Equations

IN THIS CHAPTER

Isolating values of x in linear equations

Comparing variable values by using inequalities

Assessing absolute value in equations and inequalities

The term linear has the word line buried in it, and the obvious connection is that you can graph many linear equations as lines. But linear expressions can come in many types of packages, not just equations of lines. Add an interesting operation or two, put several first-degree terms together, throw in a funny connective, and you can construct all sorts of creative mathematical challenges. In this chapter, you find out how to deal with linear equations, what to do with the answers in linear inequalities, and how to rewrite linear absolute value equations and inequalities so that you can solve them.

Linear Equations: Handling the First Degree

Linear equations feature variables that reach only the first degree, meaning that the highest power of any variable you solve for is one. The general form of a linear equation with one variable is

In this equation, the one variable ...