Solving two-step equations is not much more complicated than solving one-step equations; it just involves an extra step.

Usually there is more than one way to solve these. It's ok to use whatever method makes most sense to you. The general rule of thumb when isolating the variable is to undo the order of operations, PEMDAS. Start with addition and subtraction, then multiplication and division, then exponents, and finally parentheses.

Let's look at an example:

Method 1

	add 6 to each side
	divide each side by 2

Method 2

	divide each side by 2
	separate the fractions
	simplify
	add 3 to each side

Check the answer:

w00t!

Personally, we think that the first method is easier, since we don't have to worry about separating the fractions. It is also the method that follows the rule the best, and first gets rid of the least connected number (the 6).

Solving Two-step Equations Practice:

Example 1

Solve for x:
Let's first get rid of the 7, since it's not attached to the variable. add 7 to each side simplify divide each side by 3 or simplify
To check, let's plug -12 in for x. - 12 = -12 It works!

Example 2

Solve for y:
Here we can isolate the variable by first getting rid of the 1: add (-1) to each side simplify divide each side by (-3) so
Remember to check it!

Example 3

Solve for x:
In this problem, we would first get rid of the 2, since it's not as attached to the variable as the 5: multiply each side by 2 the 2's on the left cancel subtract 5 from each side and simplify
And check:

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Exercise 1

Solve for z: 

Hint

start by adding -18 to each side

Answer

Exercise 2

Solve for c: 

Hint

first multiply each side by 4

Answer

Exercise 3

Solve for g: 

Hint

try adding 2g to each side

Answer

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