Solve a problem

Linear equationsAlgebraMiddle schoolabout 0:41

Solve 5 = 2y - 1: animated lesson

A narrated, step-by-step linear equations video lesson with captions. Final answer: y = 3.

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Video with a synthetic English voice and captions. Pick another language for subtitles in that language, or open the interactive version.

Video narrated by a synthetic voice (Piper TTS, en_US-ljspeech-high voice (LJ Speech dataset, public domain)); the steps come from our maths engine and the answer was checked independently. Download MP4 (0.2 MB) · Captions (WebVTT)

Steps on screen

1. The problem
Solving an equation
$5 = 2~ y-1$
2. Step by step
1. $5 = 2~ y-1$
  Start with the equation
2. $-2y + 5 = -1$
  Subtract 2y from both sides
3. $-2y = -6$
  Subtract 5 from both sides
4. $y = \frac{-6}{-2} = 3$
  Divide both sides by -2
3. The answer
$y = 3$
y = 3
4. Check
- y = 3: left side = 5, right side = 5 ✓

Transcript

The problem. Here is the problem: 5 equals 2y minus 1. A linear equation in y: isolate y using inverse operations.

Step by step. Start with the equation. Subtract 2y from both sides. Subtract 5 from both sides. Divide both sides by negative 2.

The answer. So the answer is y equals 3. Doing the same operation to both sides keeps the equation balanced. Undoing addition, then multiplication, leaves y alone.

Check. y equals 3: left side equals 5, right side equals 5, which checks out.

About linear equations

Solve one-variable linear equations, including ones with brackets and fractions, and check the solution.

Solve 5 = 2y - 1: Linear equations Step-by-Step Lesson