help

I have a math problem here that i need help on, it may not be hard to you guys but i still need help.

the problem is :
j+5(j-1)=13

Ok, this is really simple once you get the hang of it. The first thing that you'll need to do is get j on one side by itself so that you can solve it. So, the question is, how do we do this?

\(\displaystyle \L{}j+5(j-1)=13\)
. . .
Ok, what you need to do first is multiply that 5 by the inside of the parenthesis.
. . .
\(\displaystyle \L{}5(j-1)=5(j)+5(-1)=5j-5\)
. . .
So, now you equation should look like this:
. . .
\(\displaystyle \L{}j+5j-5=13\)
. . .
Now, you should start to see some like terms that you can combine.
. . .
\(\displaystyle \L{}(j+5j)-<5>=<13>\)
. . .
Once you combine these, you'll get ;
. . .
\(\displaystyle \L{}6j-5=13\)
. . .
But, now that you've done that, you need to get the -5 over to the other side so that you can combine it with the 13. To do this, you must add 5 to each side. This cancels out that -5 on the left and gives you 18 on the other side.
. . .
\(\displaystyle \L{}6j=18\)
. . .
So, now you have a much smaller equation to work with and there is just one more step. You have to SOLVE! That's it! Just divide each side by 6 to cancel out the 6 on the left and leave the j by itself, but on the right side, you'll have \(\displaystyle \L{}\frac{18}{6}\).
. . .
\(\displaystyle \L{}j=\frac{18}{6}\)
. . .
Now just simplify that fraction and you've got yourself a very simple answer! Wasn't too difficult, was it? :wink:

If you are still having trouble understanding any of my steps of don't know why or how I did something, please let me know.

thanks

thankyou, that actually wasnt too hard once you showed it too me, thank you very much.

No problem! I ask for so much help around here, the least I can do is help out. If you continue to have problems with these types of questions, just let me know!

Just to clarify, he had the problem stated as j+5(j-1)=13, an in lizzies first step it shows the problem as
j+5(j-10)=13, although the rest of the problem is correct.

I just edited it, so it's correct now. Thanks!

no prpblem, just wanted to make sure that he didn't come back to that later and get stuck.