Literal Equations Algebra H Aim

Name:______________________________

Date:_____________

2-7: Literal Equations

Algebra H

Aim: How do we solve literal equations? Warm-up: The area of a rectangle is given by the equation, 𝐴 = 𝑙 ∙ 𝑤, where l is the length and w is the width. If the Area of a rectangle is 40𝑐𝑚2 and the width is 8𝑐𝑚, find the length of the rectangle. If you are stuck, try to draw a diagram. 𝐴 = 𝑙∙𝑤

Let’s try something… Given the same formula as above, 𝐴 = 𝑙 ∙ 𝑤, try to solve it for l and then w. 𝐴 = 𝑙∙𝑤

𝐴 = 𝑙∙𝑤

The general area formula for a rectangle, 𝐴 = 𝑙 ∙ 𝑤, can be called a literal equation. A literal equation is an equation where variables represent known values. Literal equations allow use to represent things like distance, time, interest, and slope as variables in an equation. At this point we should feel very competent solving linear equations. In many situations, we might even solve equations when there are no actual numbers given. Let’s take a look at what we mean in Exercise #1.

Of course, we can have numbers we known (specified constants) thrown into the mix. The most important thing is to know when we can combine and produce a result and when we can’t.

Many times this technique is used when we want to rearrange a formula to solve for a quantity of interest.

There is one last complication that we need to look at that is often challenging for students at all levels. Let’s take a look at this in the next problem.

Name:______________________________

Date:_____________

HW: 2-7: Literal Equations

Algebra H

3)