Welcome to solving linear equations. A linear equation is one where the unknown, usually called x, isn't raised to any power. 'Solving' an equation means finding the value of x that makes the equation true. The golden rule is to keep the equation balanced: whatever you do to one side of the equals sign, you must do to the other.

We solve equations using inverse operations. 'Inverse' just means opposite. For example, to solve x plus 5 equals 12, we need to get x on its own. The opposite of adding 5 is subtracting 5. So, we subtract 5 from both sides, which gives us x equals 7.

The same inverse principle applies to multiplication. If you have the equation 4x equals 20, this means 4 multiplied by x equals 20. The inverse of multiplying by 4 is dividing by 4. So, we divide both sides by 4 to find that x equals 5.