Solving Systems of Equations
Solving
Systems of
Equations
- Format the information box.
Move to cell B2. Left click and drag to the right and down to highlight the
range B2:R6. Open the Format Cells dialog box again by right-clicking, and
make the following changes:
a. Alignment tab: Check the boxes next to Wrap Text, and Merge Cells.
b. Border tab: Select Outline from the Presets at the top.
c. Patterns tab: Select the pale blue color from the bottom row. Click OK
to exit.
- Enter the information.
Normally, when you type into merged cells that are using word wrap, the
text will break to the next line when you get to the right edge of the merged
cells in much the same way that a word processor works. Making the text
go to the next line when you want it to requires the use of a hard break,
which, within a merged cell, can be accomplished by pressing the Alt key
and then the Enter key.
Type in the following text, pressing Alt+Enter when you see the paragraph
icon (¶).
This worksheet can be used to solve equations you have written to solve word
problems with two unknowns.¶ The solution can be found by multiplying each
equation by the y-coefficient of the other equation. Then, subtracting the two
equations will yield a third equation with a y-coefficient of 0.¶ The value of x is then
found by using the new equation, and dividing by the x-coefficient.¶ This worksheet
will then calculate the value of y by substituting the value of x into one of the
original equations.
Right now, both of the two text boxes you just made are probably wider
than your screen. That’s OK. You will be adjusting some column widths in
later steps.
- Create a series of instruction text boxes.
a. Click on cell B9 and drag to the right to cell G9. Right-click inside the
highlighted cells to open the Format Cells dialog box. Under Alignment,
check Merge Cells; under Border, select Outline; and under Patterns,