Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (2024)

Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (1)

There are always three ways to solve a system of equations

There are three ways to solve systems of linear equations: substitution, elimination, and graphing. Let’s review the steps for each method.

Substitution

  1. Get a variable by itself in one of the equations.

  2. Take the expression you got for the variable in step 1, and plug it (substitute it using parentheses) into the other equation.

  3. Solve the equation in step 2 for the remaining variable.

  4. Use the result from step 3 and plug it into the equation from step 1.

Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (2)

Elimination

  1. If necessary, rearrange both equations so that the ???x???-terms are first, followed by the ???y???-terms, the equals sign, and the constant term (in that order). If an equation appears to have not constant term, that means that the constant term is ???0???.

  2. Multiply one (or both) equations by a constant that will allow either the ???x???-terms or the ???y???-terms to cancel when the equations are added or subtracted (when their left sides and their right sides are added separately, or when their left sides and their right sides are subtracted separately).

  3. Add or subtract the equations.

  4. Solve for the remaining variable.

  5. Plug the result of step 4 into one of the original equations and solve for the other variable.

Graphing

  1. Solve for ???y???in each equation.

  2. Graphboth equations on the same Cartesian coordinate system.

  3. Find the point of intersection point of the lines (the point where the lines cross).

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Determining which method is best for solving the system: substitution, elimination, or graphing

Now let’s look at a few examples in which we need to decide which of these three methods to use.

Example

Which method would you use to solve the following problem? Explain why you picked the method that you did.

???x=y+2???

???3y-2x=15???

The easiest way to solve this system would be to use substitution since ???x???is already isolated in the first equation. Whenever one equation is already solved for a variable, substitution will be the quickest and easiest method.

Even though you’re not asked to solve, these are the steps to solve the system:

Substitute ???y+2???for ???x???in the second equation.

???3y-2(y+2)=15???

Distribute the ???-2???and then combine like terms.

???3y-2y-4=15???

???y-4=15???

Add ???4???to both sides.

???y-4+4=15+4???

???y=19???

Plug ???19??? for ???y???intothe first equation.

???x=y+2???

???x=19+2???

???x=21???

The unique solution is ???(21,19)???.

Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (5)

How to solve a system using the elimination method

Example

To solve the system by elimination, what would be a useful first step?

???x+3y=12???

???2x-y=5???

When we use elimination to solve a system, it means that we’re going to get rid of (eliminate) one of the variables. So we need to be able to add the equations, or subtract one from the other, and in doing so cancel either the ???x???-terms or the ???y???-terms.

Any of the following options would be a useful first step:

Multiply the first equation by ???-2???or ???2???. This would give us ???2x???or ???-2x???in both equations, which will cause the ???x???-terms to cancel when we add or subtract.

Multiply the second equation by ???3???or ???-3???. This would give us ???3y???or ???-3y???in both equations, which will cause the ???y???-terms to cancel when we add or subtract.

Divide the second equation by ???2???. This would give us ???x???or ???-x???in both equations, which will cause the ???x???-terms to cancel when we add or subtract.

Divide the first equation by ???3???. This would give us ???y???or ???-y???in both equations, which will cause the ???y???-terms to cancel when we add or subtract.

Let’s re-do the last example, but instead of the elimination method, use a graph to find the solution.

Solving the system by graphing both equations and finding the intersection points

Example

Graph both equations to find the solution to the system.

???x+3y=12???

???2x-y=5???

In order to graph these equations, let’s put both of them into slope-intercept form. We get

???x+3y=12???

???3y=-x+12???

???y=-\frac13x+4???

and

???2x-y=5???

???-y=-2x+5???

???y=2x-5???

The line ???y=-(1/3)x+4??? intersects the ???y???-axis at ???4???, and then has a slope of ???-1/3???, so its graph is

Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (6)

The line ???y=2x-5??? intersects the ???y???-axis at ???-5???, and then has a slope of ???2???, so if you add its graph to the graph of ???y=-(1/3)x+4???, you get

Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (7)

Looking at the intersection point, it appears as though the solution is approximately ???(3.75,2.75)???. In actuality, the solution is ???(27/7,19/7)\approx(3.86,2.71)???, so our visual estimate of ???(3.75,2.75)??? wasn’t that far off.

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Solving systems of equation three ways: substitution, elimination, and graphing — Krista King Math | Online math help (2024)

FAQs

What are the 3 methods for solving equations? ›

So, in order to solve that problem, you need to be able to find the value of all the variables in each equation. There are three different ways that you could do this: the substitution method, elimination method, and using an augmented matrix.

How to solve a system of equations by substitution or elimination? ›

To Solve a System of Equations by Elimination
  1. Write both equations in standard form. ...
  2. Make the coefficients of one variable opposites. ...
  3. Add the equations resulting from Step 2 to eliminate one variable.
  4. Solve for the remaining variable.
  5. Substitute the solution from Step 4 into one of the original equations.

What is the easiest method to solve systems of equations? ›

The Matrix method is the easiest way to solve a set of linear equations, because it is straightforward and a step-by-step method, and it boils down to the same thing as the elimination method that most people are familiar with.

How to solve a system of equations by graphing step by step? ›

To solve a system of linear equations by graphing.
  1. Graph the first equation.
  2. Graph the second equation on the same rectangular coordinate system.
  3. Determine whether the lines intersect, are parallel, or are the same line.
  4. Identify the solution to the system. If the lines intersect, identify the point of intersection.
Apr 22, 2020

How do you solve 3 equations fast? ›

Pick any two pairs of equations from the system. Eliminate the same variable from each pair using the Addition/Subtraction method. Solve the system of the two new equations using the Addition/Subtraction method. Substitute the solution back into one of the original equations and solve for the third variable.

What are the 3 rules to solving an equation? ›

Section 3: A General Rule for Solving Equations
  • Simplify each side of the equation by removing parentheses and combining like terms.
  • Use addition or subtraction to isolate the variable term on one side of the equation.
  • Use multiplication or division to solve for the variable.

What is the formula of substitution method? ›

The goal of the substitution method is to rewrite one of the equations in terms of a single variable. Equation B tells us that x=y+5, so it makes sense to substitute that y+5 into Equation A for x. Substitute y+5 into Equation A for x and you get y+(y+5)=3.

What is an example of elimination in math? ›

What is elimination with examples? 3x + y = 4 and -3x + y = -2 is considered a system of equations. Adding these two equations together will result in the elimination of the x variable. This means that the solution for y can be found and substituted back into the equation to find the value of x.

What is the formula of elimination method? ›

In this method, we multiply both the equations with a non-zero number to make the coefficients of any one variable equal. Then we add or subtract the equations to eliminate one of the variables to find the value of the other variable. This is how we solve linear equations by the elimination method.

What are the three methods of system of equations? ›

There are three ways to solve a system of linear equations: graphing, substitution, and elimination. The solution to a system of linear equations is the ordered pair (or pairs) that satisfies all equations in the system. The solution is the ordered pair(s) common to all lines in the system when the lines are graphed.

What is an example of a system of equations? ›

System of Equations Example

A system of equations as discussed above is a set of equations that seek a common solution for the variables included. The following set of linear equations is an example of the system of equations: 2x - y = 12. x - 2y = 48.

What are the 3 types of solutions that a system of equations can have? ›

The types of systems of linear equations are as follows:
  • Dependent: The system has infinitely many solutions. The graphs of the equations represent the same lines. ...
  • Independent: The system has exactly one solution. The graphs of the equations intersect at a single point. ...
  • Inconsistent: The system has no solution.

What are the 3 steps to solving an equation? ›

The following steps provide a good method to use when solving linear equations.
  1. Simplify each side of the equation by removing parentheses and combining like terms.
  2. Use addition or subtraction to isolate the variable term on one side of the equation.
  3. Use multiplication or division to solve for the variable.

What are the 3 methods in solving system of nonlinear equations? ›

These methods include: Newton's method, Broyden's method, and the Finite Difference method. where xi → x (as i → ∞), and x is the approximation to a root of the function f(x).

What are the methods of solving 3 simultaneous equations? ›

There are three methods by which simultaneous equations can be solved: elimination method, substitution method, graphing method. No matter which method is used, each method will lead to the same answer; however, there are times when one method leads to simpler calculations.

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