Can someone explain this to me

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The discussion centers on solving the equation Xcos17 + Xsin17 = 600 for the variable X. The solution involves dividing both sides by (cos17 + sin17), resulting in X = 600/(cos17 + sin17). The key takeaway is the application of the distributive property, which allows the two instances of X to be treated as a single variable, thus simplifying the equation effectively.

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Say you have an equation like this.

Xcos17 + Xsin17 = 600

If I want to solve for X, I know that I can divide by cos17 + sin17.

So it ends up being X = 600/(cos17 + sin17).

However, why is it that it becomes just one X on the left side? There are two X's and dividing by cos17 + sin17 does not cancel the other X so why is it that only one X stays?
 
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Ryuk1990 said:
Say you have an equation like this.

Xcos17 + Xsin17 = 600

If I want to solve for X, I know that I can divide by cos17 + sin17.

So it ends up being X = 600/(cos17 + sin17).

However, why is it that it becomes just one X on the left side? There are two X's and dividing by cos17 + sin17 does not cancel the other X so why is it that only one X stays?

You can treat those two as only one, remember distributivity?
 
Gunthi said:
You can treat those two as only one, remember distributivity?

hahaha!

I can't believe I didn't even realize that. Thanks for the help.
 
Ryuk1990 said:
hahaha!

I can't believe I didn't even realize that. Thanks for the help.

You're welcome.
 

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