Understanding Variable Isolation in Equations

You can solve an equation and the variable completely disappears. The goal is always

to get the variable alone. Think of the equals sign as a balance scale.

Whatever you do to one side, you must do to the other. Add 5 here?

Add 5 there. Divide by 2? Do it on both sides. This is how you isolate the variable

to find its value. But what if the variables cancel each other out? If you're left with

a true statement, like 10 = 10, the solution is literally all real numbers.

If you get a false statement, like 2 = 7, there's no solution. The equation is

a lie.