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Reasoning with Equations and Inequalities Solving Linear Equations

Solving for “y”

How did this happen? How might you help?

5 replies on “Solving for “y””

I like that the student knew how to solve for y, the task given to them. That they couldn’t finish it out may or may not be a different problem. Teacher needs more to determine what was behind the error.

What’s behind the error is a confusion between the layout of algebraic work and the algebraic procedure. That they dropped a negative while rewriting -3 to -2 3/3 is a minor error. Putting it on the same line as a “continuation” of the original statement ups the confusion factor significantly. The second line, where -2/3 is rewritten into 2/3 suggests that the student is treating that second equals sign as a significant part of the equation.

Every time I scroll down to write and look back at the problem I’m confused all over again.

I would change -3 to its improper fraction (-9/3) to combat this problem. Less confusion when subtracting 2/3.

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