Algebraic solution

Algebra is like a puzzle where we use numbers and letters to find the missing piece. When we talk about finding an algebraic solution, it means we want to find the value of the missing piece by solving the equation.

Let's imagine we have a box with 10 candies in it. We don't know how many candies are in the box, but we know that if we add 5 candies to it, there will be 15 in total. To find the missing number, we use algebra.

We can represent the number of candies in the box with a letter, like x. We can also represent the added candies by another letter, like y. So, our equation would be:

x + y = total candies

If we know that the total candies are 15, we can substitute it in our equation:

x + 5 = 15

Now, we need to solve for x, which means we need to find the value of x that makes this equation true. We can do that by using some algebraic steps:

1. We isolate the variable, which means we move all the terms that do not contain x to the other side of the equation:

x + 5 - 5 = 15 - 5

x = 10

2. We check our solution by substituting it back into the original equation:

x + 5 = 15

10 + 5 = 15

Our solution is correct! So, the box had 10 candies in it to begin with.

This is how we find an algebraic solution - by using numbers, letters, and some basic rules to solve for the missing value.