When translating a verbal expression into a math statement: Read the verbal expression carefully at least 2 times. Identify what you are looking for, or the piece that you don’t know, as the variable. Identify the verbal clues in the expression. Translate the words into an algebraic expression.

Common words or phrases often indicate the operation in an expression. They act as verbal clues to the math words. Some examples might include: AdditionSubtractionMultiplicationDivision PlusMinusTimesDivide SumLessProductQuotient TotalLess thanMultiplyAn, in or per IncreaseSubtractGroups ofSplit Increased byDecreaseEachRate In allDecreased byOfRatio More thanDifferenceFactorsSeparate altogetherEvery

Example 1 – Write an algebraic expression. Marcia is 5 years older than her brother. What don’t we know? Her brother’s age. We can choose n to represent her brother’s age. Five years older thanher brother’s age 5+n We represent this as 5 + n.

Example 2 – Write an algebraic expression. Adam makes nine dollars every hour that he works. What don’t we know? How many hours he works. We can use h to represent the number of hours. Nine dollarseveryhour 9 ∙ h We represent this as 9h.

Example 3 – Write an algebraic expression. For the magic trick, the number I chose is ten less than the number the magician chose. What don’t we know? The number the magician chose. Let’s use n to represent the magician’s number. Tenless thanmagician’s # 10 -n We represent this as n – 10. Be careful! LESS THAN IS A SWITCH PHRASE. This means you switch the order of the phrase.

Now your turn! 1.The difference between seven and a number. 2.The quotient of a number and nine. 3.A four dollar tip is added to the bill. 4.The product of twelve and a number. 5.We scored 5 points less than the other team. 7 - n n ÷ n 12n n - 5