Kaitlin Blundy

Lesson #1: Solving systems of linear equations by elimination (addition/subtraction)

Lesson Date and Time: Friday, Day five of unit
Number of Students: 32
Length of Lesson: 50 minutes
Materials: White boards, markers, math book, stickers
Lesson Objective: My eighth grade mathematics students will learn to solve systems of linear equations
by elimination through a vocabulary discussion, practice problems, group work, and class discussion.
Standards Addressed: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.8.EE.C.7-8
Anticipatory Set (Warm Up): 10 minutes
Instruction: About 40 minutes
Teacher Talk
Expected Response
Teacher Action
Preparations: Setting out 32
Please pick up a white board and
white boards and markers,
marker on the way in. (Written
marking each desk with colored
on the board and verbal
stickers
reminders)
Lets begin by reviewing the two
strategies we already know for
solving a system of equations!
Warm Up Activity: Review
solving by graphing and
After allowing the students to
1. One solution: (-3,0).
substitution
work for about 5 minutes:
Other solutions may be
1. Graph the system of
Please write your solutions on
the result of incorrect
equations, and
your white boards, and raise
graphing or
determine whether the
them up! (formative assessment)
misconceptions about
system has one solution,
coordinate pairs (ie. (0,infinitely many solutions,
3))
or no solutions. If there
Jimmy, could you please come
2. One solution: (16,4).
is a solution, name it.
up to the visualizer and explain
Other possible solutions
,
how you found your answer for
could come from adding,
2. Use substitution to solve problem 1? Tina, could you come
multiplying, or dividing
the system of equations. show your work to the class for
incorrectly.
,
problem 2?
After viewing student responses,
ask two students to come to the
front to share their solutions
with the rest of the class.
Now, were going to learn
Elimination might mean getting
another strategy for solving
rid of part of the problem.
systems of linear equations. We
will be learning to solve by
Cancelling out
elimination. Please brainstorm
with your shoulder partner what Getting rid of variables that are
solving by elimination might
the same, like 5x and 5x.
mean. If you have an idea, come
up with a possible example.
Eliminating a piece of the
equations.
Can I have 5 pairs share what

Kaitlin Blundy

Write the system of equations

on the board.

Write an addition sign and put

an equation bar underneath the
two equations.
Write the solution: 7y+0=14 or
7y=14

they came up with please?

I heard a lot of you explaining
that elimination might mean
getting rid of part of the
equations, which is absolutely
true.
Lets look at this pair of
equations:
,
We can see that +x and x can be
cancelled out (equal to 0) if we
add them together. We know
that equations must be
balanced; if we add the x
variables, we must also add the
other portions of the equations.
Please write this process in your
notes as we do it together on the
board.
Lets add these two equations
together.
2y+5y=7y
x+-x=0 (cancels out)
5+9=14
We are left with 7y=14, which is
a one-variable equation that we
are able to solve. If we divide
both sides by 7, we get that y=2.
What questions might you have
up until this point?
So if the variables in the two
equations added to zero, we can
cancel them out?
Yes, as long as you add the other
portions of the equations as
well.
We have y=2, but we still have to
find the x variable. Now, this is
like what we have done when
solving by substitution. Can
someone please tell me how we
find x?

Exactly; does it matter which

equation?

We have to plug 2 back into one

of the equations for the y
variable.

Kaitlin Blundy

Write on the board:

( )

Nope! (If the student answers

yes, then reteach)
Lets just plug it back into the
first equation.
If we continue to solve, we find
that x=1
Lets all check that this is true by
plugging in x=1 and y=2 into the
second equation Does it work?

(Verify on white board)

Yes!

We can write this answer as

(1,2). Why do we write the
answer this way?
The answer is a coordinate pair.
Exactly; why would we write the
solution as a coordinate pair?
If we graphed the problem, (1,2)
would be the solution.
Correct! We could do this
problem by graphing (like we
learned a few days ago), and the
answer would be the
coordinates where the lines
intersect. Therefore, our solution
is a coordinate pair.
Great job. Now, lets do another
example problem in our notes.
Ill give you about 5 minutes to
work on this problem.
Please write your solution on the
board, and hold it up for me to
see.

x=-1, y=2 or (-1,2)

(I expect other possible solutions
that, again, are most likely
caused by algebraic errors.)

Darius, could you please present

your work on the board?

Write on the board:

Please double check the work

you wrote in your notes to be
sure that it is correct.
Now, what if we have a problem
that looks like this?
Please break up into groups
based on the color of the sticker
on the corner of your desk. In
your groups, brainstorm how to

Still add the equations. (Teacher

response: Does this get rid of
any variables? -5s+-5s=-10s, so
we still have both r and s

Kaitlin Blundy
solve this problem for the next 5
minutes. If you come up with a
method, please try to find the
answer. I will come around to
each group to discuss what you
came up with.

variables. Maybe we need to

look for another method)
Subtract the equations; 3r-2r=r, 5s--5s=0, -35--30=-5 (Bingo!
Finish solving)
Subtract the equations; 3r-2r=r, 5s--5s=0, -35-30=-65 (Lets make
sure we subtract everything by
distributing that negative)

Lets all return to our seats and

discuss the solution.
As many of you discovered, we
need to subtract these two
equations.
To make this problem look a
little easier (I know there are a
lot of negatives), we can
distribute that subtraction sign.
Now, we can add like before!

Homework:

5. The sum of two numbers is 24.

Five times the first number
minus the second number is 12.
What are the two numbers?

To finish the problem, lets plug

r=-5 back into the first equation.
Thus, we have determined that
the solution is (-5,4).
Please begin working on the
following problems from your
book! If you do not finish them,
they will be homework.
Answers:
1. (-1, 3)
2. (-2,-1)
3. (0,-5)
4. (-5/2,-2)
5. (6,18)