Solving
Literal Equations
Solving
Literal Equations
A literal equation is also called a formula. It expresses a relationship among several quantities, each of which can take on different values- this means that the equation will have several different variables in it.
They are recipes for finding the numeric value of a variable, assigned a "letter" name (hence "literal") that typically stands for some sort of real-world quantity, such as Volume, Temperature, Pressure, amount of interest an investment earned, and so on.
This variable has an established relationship to other quantities that are also assigned "letter" names in the recipe (the equation),that gives the relationship between (or among) the quantities. The deal is, if we know the values for all of the variables in the recipe except one, then we can plug those values into the recipe and solve for the one variable whose value we don't know.
| An example is the formula for the area of a triangle: A=bh/2 | The formula to convert Celsius temperature to Farenheit temperature is F=9/5C+32. |
| This formula allows us to calculate the area of a triangle if we know its base and height. Now suppose that we already know the area and the base, but we want a formula that will give us the height. We can use our algebraic methods to isolate the variable h in the formula. | Solve this formula for C. |
| Given Formula
A=bh/2
Clear Fractions 2)A=(bh/2)(2) Divide by b to isolate h 2A/b=bh/b 2A/b=h h=2a/b |
Step 1
5(F)=5(9/5C+32)
Step 2 5F=9C+180 Step 3 5F-16=9C Step 4 (5/9)(F-32) |
