Algebra
Algebra
x 2 x 1
b 1
5 3
3 5
15 ( x 2) 15 ( x 1)
15 1 Multiply each term on both sides by 15 (LCD of 3
51 31
3(x 2) − 5(x − 1) 15 and 5 is 15) and cancel.
3x 6 − 5x 5 15 Expand the brackets and simplify by combining like
-2x 1 15 terms.
-2x 16 Note:-5(x 1) -5x 5 not-5x 5.
x -8
5 4
c 2
2x 3x
5 3 4 2 LCD of 2x and 3x is 6x.
6x 6x 2 6x
2x 1 3x 1 Multiply each term by 6x. Cancel and simplify.
15 8 12x Solve for x leaving the answer in fraction form.
7 12x
7
x
12
7
x
12
3 2
d
x 1 x 4
3 ( x 1) ( x 4) 2( x 1) ( x 4) Multiply each term by the common denominator
x 1 x 4 (x 1)(x 4).
3(x 4) 2(x 1)
3x 12 2x 2 Expand the brackets.
x 12 2 Subtract 2x from both sides to gather x terms on one
x -10 side then subtract 12 from both sides.
or
3 2 Since each side is a single fraction you can ‘cross-
x 1 x 4 3 2
multiply’:
3(x 4) 2(x 1) x+1 x+4
3x 12 2x 2 This gives the same result as above.
x 12 2
x -10
Exercise 8K
Understanding
1 Write down the lowest common denominator of all the fractions in these equations.
x 2x x 3x x 1 x
a 1 b 3 c 5
3 5 2 4 3 6
2 x 1 5x 2 x x 1 x 1 3x 1
d 6 e f
7 4 3 2 5 4 8 8
Understanding
12 x 21x 4( x 3)
a b c
3 7 2
5(2 x 5) 15 x -7( x 1)( x 2)
d e f
5 5x 7( x 1)
36( x 7)( x 1) 18(3 2 x )(1 x ) -8(2 3 x)(2 x 1)
g h i
9( x 7) 9(3 2 x ) -8(2 3 x )
Fluency
Example 20a 3 Solve each of the following equations.
x x x x y y
a 7 b 10 c 14
2 5 2 3 3 4
x 3x 5m m 3a a
d -1 e 1 f 2
2 5 3 2 5 3
3x 5x 8a 2a 7b b
g 14 h 34 i 15
4 2 3 5 2 4
Example 20b 4 Solve each of the following equations.
x 1 x 2 b 3 b 4 n 2 n 2
a 11 b 1 c 1
2 3 2 3 3 2
a 1 a 1 x 5 x 1 x 3 x 1
d 2 e 3 f 2
5 6 2 4 2 3
m 4 m 4 2a 8 a 7 2y 1 y 2
g 3 h 1 i -1
3 4 2 6 4 6
5 Solve each of the following equations.
x 1 x x 2 x n 3 n 1
a b c
2 3 3 2 4 2
a 2 a 1 3 y 2 y 2m 4 m 6
d e f
3 2 2 3 4 3
Example 20c 6 Solve each of the following equations.
3 1 2 1 4 2
a 4 b 2 c 3
4 x 2x 3x 2 x 2m 5m
1 1 1 1 1 1
d 9 e 2 f 4
2x 4 x 2b b 2 y 3y
1 1 2 1 7 2
g 2 h 2 i 1
3x 2 x 3x x 2a 3a
Example 20d 7 Solve each of the following equations.
3 1 2 3 2 3
a b c
x 1 x 2 x 3 x 2 x 5 x 2
1 1 2 1 1 2
d e f
x 3 2x 1 x 1 2x 1 x 2 3x 2
Problem-solving
8 Half of a number (x) plus one-third of twice the same number is equal to 4.
a Write an equation describing the situation.
b Solve the equation to find the number.
9 Use your combined knowledge of all the methods learnt earlier to solve these equations with
algebraic fractions.
2x 3 5x 2 3x 2
a 4 b 3 c 2
1 x x 2 x 1
2x x 1 3 2 5 1 3x 3 4
d 2x 1 e 2 f
3 4 x x x x2 2x x
x 1 3x 2 2 x 4x 1 x 3 x 5 1 2 5
g h i
2 4 3 3 6 6 x 2 x 3 ( x 2)( x 3)
10 Molly and Billy each have the same number of computer games (x computer games each). Hazel
takes one-third of Molly’s computer games and a quarter of Billy’s computer games to give her a
total of 77 computer games.
a Write an equation describing the total number of computer games for Hazel.
b Solve the equation to find how many computer games Molly and Billy each had.
Reasoning
11 A common error when solving equations with algebraic fractions is made in this working. Find
the error and explain how to avoid it.
3x 1 x
2x (LCD 12)
4 3
12(3 x 1) 12 x
2x
4 3
3(3x 1) 2x 4x
9x 3 2x 4x
7x 3
3
x
7
12 Another common error is made in this working. Find and explain how to avoid this error.
Reasoning
x 2x 1
1 (LCD 6)
2 3
6 x 6(2 x 1)
6
2 3
3x 2(2x 1) 6
3x 4x 2 6
-x 8
x -8
13 A similar technique to that used in Questions 11 and 12 can be used to solve equations with
decimals. Here is an example.
0.8x 1.2 2.5
8x 12 25 Multiply both sides by 10 to remove all decimals.
8x 37
37
x
8
Solve these decimal equations using the same idea. For parts d–f you will need to multiply by
100.
a 0.4x 1.4 3.2 b 0.3x 1.3 0.4 c 0.5 0.2x 0.2
d 1.31x 1.8 2.13 e 0.24x 0.1 3.7 f 2 3.25x 8.5