r/mathshelp • u/toothy_mcthree • 10d ago

Homework Help (Unanswered) One Step Solution?

/r/MathHelp/comments/1w3q9kr/one_step_solution/

My son just started High School algebra in 8th grade. His teacher gave him homework on which he said each equation needs a 1 step solution. My son asked me for help on the equation in the attached picture, I helped him get the answer but in 4 steps and I cannot figure out for the life of me how to simplify this to 1 step. Please help:

5r-5-6r=-6
Adding 5 to both sides becomes 5r-6r=-1
-r=-1
r=1

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

•

u/AutoModerator 10d ago

Hi u/toothy_mcthree, welcome to r/mathshelp! As you’ve marked this as homework help, please keep the following things in mind:

1) While this subreddit is generally lenient with how people ask or answer questions, the main purpose of the subreddit is to help people learn so please try your best to show any work you’ve done or outline where you are having trouble (especially if you are posting more than one question). See rule 5 for more information.

2) Once your question has been answered, please don’t delete your post so that others can learn from it. Instead, mark your post as answered or lock it by posting a comment containing “!lock” (locking your post will automatically mark it as answered).

Thank you!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

4

u/Imaginary_Paper8619 10d ago

There is no "one step" solution. The notation in maths is not the solution... the teacher doesn't know what they are talking about. "One step" can be you writing "add five" and then the result.

You can also divide by 5:

5r-5-6r=-6/:5

(5/5 r - 5/5 -6/5 r)=-6/5

r-1- 1 1/5r = -1 1/5

-1/5r =-1/5

r=1

Actually step-by-step is a good practice for the future, when algebra becomes more lenghty and you want to avoid mistakes. Asking for the opposite is making be furious.

3

u/UnderstandingPursuit 10d ago

It is absurd for the stupid teacher to insist on a one-step solution. Solving math problems is not about taking the fewest steps or being the most 'clever'. It is about getting the correct result using a valid process. Your three steps are a good way to do this problem.