How to solve a linear equation

Let's imagine that we had the equation $4x + 3 = 12$.

To solve this equation, the approach we use is to rearrange it until we have the unknown - in this case $x$ - on one side of the equals sign.

We do this in two steps:

1. First, we identify the sequence of steps that is being applied to the unknown value to obtain a known value.
2. Then, we work backwards to undo these steps one-by-one.

As we apply the undoing steps to the known value, we will continue to have known values. Eventually, we will have a known value equal to the unknown value, and we will have solved the equation.

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