How do you find the solution of the system of equations 2x – y = 4 and 3x + y = 1 ?

1 Answer
May 2, 2015

We can add the two equations to eliminate y

Adding the 2 equations will give us:

(2x-y) +(3x + y) = 4+ 1

2x - cancel(y) + 3x + cancel(y) = 5

5x = 5

Dividing both sides by 5 gives us

(cancel(5)x)/cancel(5) = cancel(5)/cancel(5)

color(green)(x = 1

Now we can substitute x =1 in the second equation to get y

3*1 + y = 1

3 + y = 1

Subtracting 3 from both sides will give us:

cancel(3) + y - cancel(3) = 1 - 3

color(green)(y = -2

The solution to these system of equations is:

color(green)(x = 1 ; y = -2