Question

1. what operation do you perform first when solving \\(\frac{z}{a} = b + c\\) for \\(z\\)?

a. subtract \\(c\\) from both sides
b. multiply both sides by \\(a\\)
c. add \\(c\\) to both sides
d. divide both sides by \\(b\\)

Explanation:

Step1: Isolate z term goal

We aim to solve for $z$, which is divided by $a$.

Step2: Inverse operation first

The first step to undo the division by $a$ is to multiply both sides by $a$:
$$\frac{z}{a} \times a = (b + c) \times a$$
This simplifies to $z = a(b + c)$, directly isolating $z$ in one initial step. Other operations would not start the process of isolating $z$ efficiently.

Answer:

b. Multiply both sides by a