Hey!
I do the General Math course, and have been struggling with Simultaneous equations. No matter how many videos i watch, and questions i attempt, it just doesnt work out for me! I was wondering if there are any tips etc to get this down pat.
Hey!! A few tips from our General lecturer:
- Use the method you are more comfortable with (though know both in case they specify a method)
- When in doubt, just get one of the equations to the point where it has \(y\) as the subject - You can then use the substitution method to substitute this equation into the other
- If using elimination method, get all your variables on one side and look for the same value in both equations, eg, a \(2x\) appearing in both. That is the clue for using the elimination method, and you just subtract the equations (if they are the same sign) or add the equations (if they are different sign, \(2x\) versus \(-2x\) for example)
Also remember that we solve these equations to find a point of intersection, so make sure you provide both the \(x\) and \(y\) coordinates clearly at the end
I think this is very much a practice makes perfect thing!
2. When they are all linear terms (e.g. \(2x+3y=4\) and \(6x-y=-12\) then you always have a choice of whether you want substitution or elimination.
All of your equations in the General Course will look like this, there are no non-linear terms like \(x^2\) or anything like that