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Section 5.3 Deliberate Practice: Substitute and Solve

Algebra is a skill, which means it requires practice to become proficient. But it will take more than rote repetition to get there. Deliberate practice is the thoughtful repetition of a task. For each of these sections, you will be given a list of specific skills or ideas to focus on as you practice thinking through the problems.

Focus on these skills:

  • Write the original equation.

  • Use parentheses with the substitution.

  • Be careful with negative signs and the distributive property.

  • Present your work legibly.

Worksheet Worksheet

Instructions: Substitute the first equation into the second equation, then solve for the remaining variable.

1.

\(y = 3x + 4; \quad 2x + 3y = -6\)

2.

\(a = 3b - 2; \quad 4a - 3b = 7\)

3.

\(m = n - 4; \quad -2m + 3m - 5 = -8\)

4.

\(t = -2s + 3; \quad 3s - 2t + 7 = 7\)

5.

\(b = -3a + 1; \quad 4a - b - 4 = 4\)

6.

\(x = - y + 3; \quad -3x - 4y + 6 = 0\)

7.

\(u = 2v - 4; \quad 3u + 4v - 3 = -2u - 5\)

8.

\(r = 3s + 1; \quad -r + 3s - 3 = 4r - 3s + 7\)

9.

\(x = -2y + 3; \quad 2x - y + 4 = x - 3y - 6\)

10.

\(n = -3m - 4; \quad 2m - 3n - 1 = -2m + 4n + 5\)