To cancel out the x variables, we can multiply the first equation by 2 and the second equation by -3:
2(3x+4y) = 2(48)
-3(6x+2y) = -3(60)
where are you getting the numbers to cancel them out?
1 answer
To cancel out the x variables in the given equations, we can choose any numbers as long as the multiplication by those numbers results in the coefficients of x being equal in magnitude but opposite in sign. In this case, we chose to multiply the first equation by 2 and the second equation by -3. These numbers were chosen arbitrarily to simplify the problem and are not necessarily the only numbers that would work to cancel out the x variables.