Pre-Algebra Examples

$a^{2} = 4 a$

Step 1

Subtract $4 a$ from both sides of the equation.

$a^{2} - 4 a = 0$

Step 2

Factor $a$ out of $a^{2} - 4 a$ .

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Step 2.1

Factor $a$ out of $a^{2}$ .

$a \cdot a - 4 a = 0$

Step 2.2

Factor $a$ out of $- 4 a$ .

$a \cdot a + a \cdot - 4 = 0$

Step 2.3

Factor $a$ out of $a \cdot a + a \cdot - 4$ .

$a (a - 4) = 0$

Step 3

If any individual factor on the left side of the equation is equal to $0$ , the entire expression will be equal to $0$ .

$a = 0$

$a - 4 = 0$

Step 4

Set $a$ equal to $0$ .

$a = 0$

Step 5

Set $a - 4$ equal to $0$ and solve for $a$ .

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Step 5.1

Set $a - 4$ equal to $0$ .

$a - 4 = 0$

Step 5.2

Add $4$ to both sides of the equation.

$a = 4$

Step 6

The final solution is all the values that make $a (a - 4) = 0$ true.

$a = 0, 4$