In mathematics, simultaneous equations

are a set of equations containing multiple

variables. This set is often referred to as a
system of equations. A solution to a
system of equations is a particular
specification of the values of all variables
that simultaneously satisfies all of the
equations. To find a solution, the solver
needs to use the provided equations to find
the exact value of each variable. Generally
the solver uses either a graphical method,
the matrix method, the substitution method,
or the elimination method. Some textbooks
refer to the elimination method as the
addition method, since it involves adding
equations (or constant multiples of the said
equations) to one another, as detailed later
in this article.
This is a set of linear equations, also known
as a linear system of equations:

Solving this involves subtracting x + y = 6

from 2x + y = 8 (using the elimination
method) to remove the y-variable, then
simplifying the resulting equation to find the
value of x, then substituting the x-value into
either equation to find y.
The solution of this system is:

which can also be written as an ordered pair

(2,4), representing on a graph the
coordinates of the point of intersection of
the two lines represented by the equations.

Sometimes not all variables can be solved

for, and so an answer for at least one
variable must be expressed in terms of other
variables and so the set of all solutions is
infinite; this is typical for the case where the
system has fewer equations than variables.
If the number of equations is the same as
the number of variables, then probably (but
not necessarily) the system is exactly
solvable in the sense that the set of its
solutions is infinite; for a system of linear
equations in this case there is exactly one
solution, for other systems to have several
solutions is also typical. Sometimes a
system has no solution; this is typical for the
case where the system has more equations
than variables. If these rules about
connection between number of solutions and
numbers of equations and variables do not
hold, then such situation is often referred to
as dependence between equations or
between their left parts. For instance, this
occurs in linear systems if one equation is a
simple multiple of the other (representing
the same line, e.g. 2x + y = 3 and 4x + 2y =
6) or if the ratio of like variables in two linear
equations is the same (representing parallel
lines, e.g. 2x + y = 3 and 6x + 3y = 7 where
the ratio of comparable letters is 3).
Systems of two equations in two real-value
unknowns usually appear as one of five
different types, having a relationship to the
number of solutions:
1. Systems that represent intersecting
sets of points such as lines and curves,
and that are not of one of the types
below. This can be considered the
normal type, the others being
exceptional in some respect. These
systems usually have a finite number of
solutions, each formed by the
coordinates of one point of intersection.
2. Systems that simplify down to false
(for example, equations such as 1 = 0).
Such systems have no points of
intersection and no solutions. This type is
found, for example, when the equations
represent parallel lines.
3. Systems in which both equations simplify
down to an identity (for example, x = 2x
− x and 0y = 0). Any assignment of
values to the unknown variables satisfies
the equations. Thus, there are an infinite
number of solutions: all points of the
plane.
4. Systems in which the two equations
represent the same set of points: they
are mathematically equivalent (one
equation can typically be transformed
into the other through algebraic
manipulation). Such systems represent
completely overlapping lines, or curves,
etc. One of the two equations is
redundant and can be discarded. Each
point of the set of points corresponds to
a solution. Usually, this means there are
an infinite number of solutions.
5. Systems in which one (and only one)
of the two equations simplifies down to
an identity. It is therefore redundant, and
can be discarded, as per the previous
type. Each point of the set of points
 represented by the other equation is a
solution of which there are then usually
an infinite number.
The equation x2 + y2 = 0 can be thought of
as the equation of a circle whose radius has
shrunk to zero, and so it represents a single
point: (x = 0, y = 0), unlike a normal circle
containing an infinity of points. This and
similar examples show the reason why the
last two types described above need the
qualification "usually". An example of a
system of equations of the first type
described above with an infinite number of
solutions is given by x = |x|, y = |y| (where
the notation |•| denotes the absolute value
function), whose solutions form a quadrant
of the x-y plane. Another example is x = |y|,
y = |x|, whose solution represents a ray.

Substitution method
The two example equations intersect twice.
Therefore, there are two solutions.
Systems of simultaneous equations can be
hard to solve unless a systematic approach
is used. A common technique is the
substitution method: Find an equation
that can be written with a single variable as
the subject, in which the left-hand side
variable does not occur in the right-hand
side expression. Next, substitute that
expression where that variable appears in
the other equations, thereby obtaining a
smaller system with fewer variables. After
that smaller system has been solved
(whether by further application of the
substitution method or by other methods),
substitute the solutions found for the
variables in the above right-hand side
expression.
In this set of equations

x is made the subject of the second

equation:
then, this result is substituted into the first
equation:

After simplification, this yields the solutions

and by substituting this in x = −2y the

corresponding x values are obtained. The
two solutions of the system of equations are
then:

Elimination method
Elimination by judicious multiplication is the
other commonly used method to solve
simultaneous linear equations. It uses the
general principles that each side of an
equation still equals the other when both
sides are multiplied (or divided) by the same
quantity, or when the same quantity is
added (or subtracted) from both sides. As
the equations grow simpler through the
elimination of some variables, a variable will
eventually appear in fully solvable form, and
this value can then be "back-substituted"
into previously derived equations by
plugging this value in for the variable.
Typically, each "back-substitution" can then
allow another variable in the system to be
solved.
Steps in solving
• arrange the linear equation so that one
of the unknowns becomes the subject of
the equation
• subtitute the new equation from step 1
into the non-linear equation.a quadratic
equation in one unknown will be formed.
• Solve the quadratic equation by
factorisation,completinf the square,or
using formula.
• Subtitute the value of the unknown
obtained from step 3 into the linear
equation to find the value of the other
unknown.

Example 1

Solve the simultaneous equations

X+2y=1
X2+4y2=13