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28 votes
7)Solve s = n(a + 1) for a

User Marco Craveiro
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1 Answer

16 votes
16 votes

Given the following equation:


s=n\mleft(a+1\mright)

You can follow these steps in order to solve for "a":

1. According to the Distributive property, you know that:


\begin{gathered} a(b+c)=ab+ac \\ a(b-c)=ab-ac \end{gathered}

Then you must apply the Distributive property by multiplying the terms inside the parentheses by "n":


\begin{gathered} s=(n)(a)+(n)(1) \\ s=na+n \end{gathered}

2. Apply the Subtraction property of equality by subtracting "n" from both sides of the equation:


\begin{gathered} s-(n)=na+n-(n) \\ s-n=na \\ \end{gathered}

3. Apply the Division property of equality by dividing both sides of the equation by "n":


\begin{gathered} (s-n)/(n)=a \\ \\ a=(s-n)/(n) \end{gathered}

The answer is:


a=(s-n)/(n)

User Matti Virkkunen
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