Solving equations in terms of a variable

The  exercise appears under the Algebra I Math Mission. This exercise provides advanced practice with solving equations using several variables.

Types of Problems
There is one type of problem in this exercise:


 * 1) Isolate the specified variable: This problem has an expression with several different variables. The student is asked to solve the equation in terms of one of the variables.Seitoav1.png

Strategies
Knowledge of the properties of equality and confidence with variables will ensure success on this exercise.
 * 1) One way to get to some (not all) answers more efficiently on this problem is to replace all instances of the variables (except the one you are looking for) with one. Then solve the resulting simpler equation. Then if you replace one for the variables in the answer choices, ideally only one of them will work!

Real-life Applications

 * 1) Formulas are often presented in one way but solving for other variables in these formulas is often a need in reality. For example, knowing the volume of a sphere but needing to find the radius. Or knowing the amount of money you need and trying to find the interest rate that will accomplish that goal.