To solve for y, we must move everything other than y to the right side of the equation; this is what we call isolating the variable. To do so, let’s set up an equation:
2x - 2x + 4y = -1 - 2x
4y = -1 - 2x
Let’s divide everything by 4 to isolate y:
4y / 4 = (-1 / 4) - 2x / 4
y = -1/4 - 2/4x or y = -1/4 - x/2
