How do you solve equations?

Before you solve, you have to know the order of operations. This is important to know because in math, you have to solve in a specific order to get accurate answers.

The order is:

• Solve equations in parentheses

• Solve exponents

• Multiply/Divide

• Add/Subtract

You can memorize this with the handy acronym:

PEMDAS
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Something else you should know is that if there are multiple terms that are similar, like 7x and 5x, or 3 and 6, you need to combine them after solving problems in parentheses. To elaborate, these terms are called "like terms" and are basically any numbers that end in the same variable or don't have a variable.

And if you're asked to find a variable, you isolate the variable so that it's just the product and variable on either side. You do this by doing reverse operations, by starting with parentheses, addition and subtraction, and THEN multiplication and division.

You do the reverse operation on a value and apply it to the other side of the equation. For example,
5+3x=20.

You first subtract 5 from 5, and subtract 5 from 20, and then divide 3 from 3 in 3x, as 3x is a multiplication expression, 3*x. Then divide 3 from 25, our sum from earlier, to get 8.33 (8 1/3). 

Let's try some sample problems.