Changing the subject-am I isolating x right?

I’m prepping for a test and keep second‑guessing myself: for y = 2x + 3 I wrote x = y – 3/2, and for y = (3x – 5)/2 I multiplied to get 2y = 3x – 5 but then stall-could someone point out what I’m missing, maybe checking with y = 11?

One Response

  1. Almost there-parentheses are your besties: from y = 2x + 3 you want x = (y − 3)/2 (not y − 3/2), and from y = (3x − 5)/2 you get 2y = 3x − 5 → 3x = 2y + 5 → x = (2y + 5)/3; with y = 11 these give x = 4 and x = 9, and both check since 2·4 + 3 = 11 and (3·9 − 5)/2 = 11.
    Think of it like unwrapping a present in reverse-undo the last operation first; nice walkthrough here: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/x2f8bb11595b61c86:solve-equations/x2f8bb11595b61c86:solve-for-a-variable/v/rearranging-formulas.

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