Multiplication and Division Examples Page 4

-x = 34.

There are two ways to solve this equation. What are they?

Way 1: Add x to each side to get the equation

0 = 34 + x

and then subtract 34 from each side to find that

-34 = x

Way 2: -x equals (-1)x. Since (-1) is a constant, we can multiply both sides of the equation by the multiplicative inverse of -1, which is -1. Wait—a multiplicative inverse doesn't need to be a fraction? No siree. Check it out: -1 × -1 = 1. We dig it.