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Can you solve the equation shown?

There are three types: $ax = b, x + a = b$ and $\displaystyle \frac{x}{a} = b$
Use the options provided.
You should be able to solve any of these in 1 step.

## Summary/Background

For anyone having problems running the Equation Buster please note that this may be due to one or more factors:
1. First of all make sure you have installed the extra fonts - see the section below.
2. A slow network may not be fast enough to run this rather complex applet.
3. A slow computer may not have the resources available to successfully run the applet.
4. There is a setting on your account details which may help with items 2 and 3 - click on the Your Account button near the top right and then Manage Main Account or Manage Account. There is a slider control called Question Load Speed - adjusting this may rectify the problem.
5. The JavaScript engine of a particular web browser may not be fast or powerful enough to run the applet. Try a different web browser.
We have looked into reported problems several times - unfortunately, as you can see from the above, there is no simple answer. Just because the applet isn't working for you doesn't mean to say it's actually broken for all users!

Equation Buster is a suite of activities designed by MathsNet. You can solve equations set for you at various difficulty levels.

In every case the emphasis is not only on finding the solution but on finding the best steps to get you there. Usually a single tick indicates the correct answer; a double tick indicates the correct answer found in a minimum number of steps. For a quick start guide in pdf format, written for GCSE, click here. (PLEASE NOTE - this document currently refers to an older version of the applet and has different controls - a new update to this documentation is currently in progress.)

This version of the applet uses the MathJax system for displaying maths symbols.

## Glossary

### equation

A statement that two mathematical expressions are equal.

### mean

the sum of all the members of the list divided by the number of items in the list.

### network

A graph that has a number associated with each edge.

### pdf

The probability density function