Question

how do i isolate a variable

Answer 1

how

Answer 2

If you need to isolate the variable then you need to rearrange things. The rule is that you have to do the same to both sides of the equal sign.

So for example:

5x + 3y = 7.

To isolate x, we do the following:

Subtract 3y from both sides:

5x + 3y - 3y = 7 - 3y

Which gives:

5x = 7 - 3y

Now we need to divide both sides by 5.

5x / 5 = (7 - 3y) / 5

x = (7 - 3y) / 5

We have now isolated x.