Equation balance – solving linear equations

MathematicsAlgebraAges 13–14

Place shapes, number tiles or x tiles on the two pans of a balance to build and test an equation, then apply operations (add, subtract, multiply or divide both sides by the same amount) to reduce a linear equation in one variable to the form x = number. Five screens: Basics (shapes with hidden masses), Numbers (positive/negative tiles and zero pairs), Variables (x tiles and unit tiles), Operations (apply operations to both sides of ax + b = cx + d, with exact fractions) and Game (4 levels of solving for x). Adapted from the "Equality Explorer" simulation by PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder (CC BY 4.0); rewritten.

Lesson: Solving linear equations in one variable