How can I isolate y on one side of the equation?

To isolate y on one side of an equation, you need to perform a series of algebraic operations that will undo any addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division that is affecting y. Here are the general steps to follow:

1. Simplify both sides of the equation if necessary. This involves expanding any parentheses and combining like terms. 2. If the equation has a term with y that is being added or subtracted, move it to the other side by performing the inverse operation. For example, if you have an equation like `3 + y = 5`, you would subtract 3 from both sides to get `y = 2`. 3. If there’s a coefficient (a number multiplied by y), divide both sides of the equation by that coefficient to isolate y. For example, in the equation `2y = 10`, you would divide both sides by 2 to get `y = 5`. 4. If y is in a fraction, you can multiply both sides of the equation by the denominator to get rid of the fraction. 5. In cases where y appears in more than one term, you’ll want to combine like terms or use other methods to isolate it.

Let’s consider an example equation: `2y - 4 = 10`.

- First, we need to add 4 to both sides to get rid of the -4 that is being subtracted from 2y: `2y - 4 + 4 = 10 + 4`, which simplifies to `2y = 14`. - Then, we need to divide both sides by the coefficient of y, which is 2: `(2y)/2 = 14/2`, which simplifies to `y = 7`.

Now y is isolated on one side of the equation.