y = (x/3) - 14. Rearrange this equation to make x the subject.

The aim of this question is to end up with 'x' standing by itself on one side of the equation. The key principle to achieve this is to understand that whatever you do to one side of the equation, you have to do to the other. At the moment our 'x' is found in the following form: (x/3) - 14, whilst our 'y' is by itself. So a good starting point is to try and get rid of the 14. Because it is negative 14, we must add 14 to both sides of the equation, as so: (+14) y = (x/3) - 14 (+14) This simplifies out to: y + 14 = (x/3) We are now one step away from achieving our goal. Our 'x' is currently the numerator in a division. We know that the opposite to division is multiplication, and so if we multiply by the denominator (in this case 3), we will end up with the numerator by itself. However, we mustn't forget to do it to both sides of the equation. As so: (x3) y + 14 = (x/3) (x3) Which simplifies out to: 3(y +14) = x You can further simplify this equation to: 3y + 42 = x So the answer is x = 3y + 42