What Are Linear Equations?
In mathematical terms, a linear equation is defined as any pattern of numbers that increases or decreases the same amount at every step. To define a linear equation, we need two; the point from where the pattern starts and the by the factor the pattern moves. Some of the properties that a linear equation has are:
A linear equation only has one or two variables. No variable is used in the denominator of the fraction.
All the variables are raised to the power greater than one. When the pairs of values that make the linear equation true are plotted on the graph, they lie on the same line. Linear equations are plotted as straight lines on the coordinate grid.
If we are given the equation x + 6 = -3 to solve, we will follow the steps mentioned below.
x + 6 = -3
To find the value of x, we will have to isolate the variable from the rest of the equation.
We will subtract 6 from both sides of the equals to sign. The equation will become,
x + 6 - 6 = -3 - 6. Lastly, we will solve the equation to find the value of x. Canceling out 6 and adding -3 - 6 we will get, x = -9.
The value of x is found to be -9.
When the pairs of values that make the linear equation true are plotted on the graph, they lie on the same line. Linear equations are plotted as straight lines on the coordinate grid.
When we have two variables in a linear equation, it tells us that which variable depends on the second variable. Typically, we use x and y as the linear variable with x as the independent variable and y as the dependent variable. The independent variable x is graphed along the horizontal axis, and the dependent variable y us plotted along the y-axis. While potting for linear equations, we can find the values of the dependent variable if we have the values of independent variable x. We can simply plot the point with (x, y) pair on the coordinate grid.