Which description best defines a literal equation?

• A. An equation that has more than one variable
• B. An equation with only numbers
• C. An equation with a single variable
• D. An equation that has no variables

Answer: (A)

A literal equation is an equation that uses letters to represent variables and involves more than one variable. This kind of equation is meant to be rearranged to solve for any one variable in terms of the others. For example, s = vt has two variables, so you can solve for v as v = s/t or for t as t = s/v. That multi-variable, letter-based setup is what distinguishes a literal equation from a purely numeric equation or one with only a single variable.