Equations Involving One Operation

Equations involving only one operation tend to be so simple that their solution set is obvious. The same techniques used to solve these equations can be used to solve more complex equations. Hence we shall begin with these, simplest of all possible equations, and and subsequently work with more complex ones.

To solve an equation involving one operation, use the Golden Rule of Equations and perform the inverse operation on each side of the equation. That is we do unto one side as we do unto the other.

Operation	Inverse Operation
Addition	Subtraction
Subtraction	Addition
Multiplication	Division
Division	Multiplication

Examples:

x + 3 = 7          Note the operation involved on left side is addition.
x + 3 - 3 = 7 - 3  To undo this addition we subtract three from each side.
x = 4


x - 5 = 2          Note the operation involved on left side is subtraction.
x - 5 + 5 = 2 + 5  To undo this subtraction we add five to each side.
x =7


3x = 15            Note the operation involved on left side is multiplication.
(3x)/3 = 15/3      To undo this multiplication we divide each side by three.
x = 5


x/2 = 6            Note the operation involved on left side is division.
2(x/2) = 2(6)      To undo this division we multiply each side by two.
x = 12

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