Concept

Inverse Operations

Inverse operations are two operations that undo each other. For instance, adding $2$ and subtracting $2$ are inverse operations because they cancel each other out. These can be used to eliminate parts of an expression or equation. In an expression such as $x + 6,$ the $6$ can be eliminated by performing the inverse operation of adding $6,$ which is subtracting $6.$ $\begin{gathered} x+6\,{\color{#0000FF}{-}}\,{\color{#0000FF}{6}}=x \end{gathered}$ When using inverse operations on an equation, it is important to perform the same operation on each side to maintain equality. The result will then be an equivalent equation, which is an equation that retains the same solution.