Final answer:
To solve a system of equations, rewrite one equation in terms of a single variable and substitute it into the other equation.
Step-by-step explanation:
When solving word problems, it is often necessary to write equations to represent the problem. In some cases, you may end up with two equations involving different variables. To solve the system of equations, you need to rewrite one equation in terms of a single variable so that you can substitute it into the other equation.
For example, given the equations x - 2y = 4 and y = -(x + 4), we can rewrite the first equation as x = 2y + 4. Then, we can substitute this expression for x in the second equation: y = -((2y + 4) + 4). Simplifying this equation, we get -2y - 8 = y. Solving for y, we find y = -2.
Substituting this value back into the first equation, we can solve for x: x = 2(-2) + 4, which gives us x = 0.