How to Rewrite a Literal Equation Backwards

By Rachel Kaplove

Rewriting a literal equation backwards will require you to pay close attention to all the variables. Rewrite a literal equation backwards with help from a professional private tutor in this free video clip.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Rachel, and today we're going to be going over how to rewrite a literal equation backwards. So let's say we have an equation like X equals YZ over W. Well if we are rewriting this equation, it's usually because we want to solve for a different variable so we're going to have to kind of make it be backwards, switching out the equation. Well what does that mean? That means if we are solving for let's say Y in this equation, this isn't meant to be an exponent, it's meant to be a big Z okay, Y times Z, alright so we are solving for Y. So that means that we have to isolate the Y so you always want to isolate the variable. That means get everything that's on that side over to the other side so the equation will kind of look backwards you are rewriting it. So, let's start off by getting rid of that W, we multiply both sides by W and we're going to end up with W times X equals Y times Z right, now we've gotten rid of our fractions, it looks much easier. Now again, we're trying to isolate what we are solving for which in this case is Y. So we're going to divide both sides by Z and now we have Y on its own. So we have W over Z equals Y and we can swap that, make it backwards so write Y equals WX over Z. And now we've solved the equation, just rewriting it in a different way solving for a different variable. And this applies to anytime you are looking to solve for a different variable and just remember to always use your order of operations to try and isolate that variable. I'm Rachel and thank you for learning with me today.