How these work is you gotta know what each word translates to in terms of math.

So, you got the word “sum” and that’s like the + sign. The word “times” is the × sign. If it says “a number” that’s a variable, or what’s usually written out as “x”. That means “the sum of 16 times a number” is:

16x +

Get it? Then it says “and the number less another number times 3.” When they talkin’ about “another number” then it’s another variable, which is “y.” The term “less” is subtraction. This is a tricky one. You gotta check to see if it’s “less” or “less than.” ‘Cause “3 less than 5″ would be:

5−3

But “3 less 5″ is like sayin’ “3 minus 5″ so it’d be:

3-5

Here, we just got “less” by itself, so we can see it as a “minus”:

x – 3y

Remember that ’cause it say “the sum of “16 times a number” AND “the number less another number times 3″ you should put that second part in parenthesis to group that side of the problem.

The whole equation would look like this:

16x + (x – 13y)

The second one would then be:

x – (y+13)

Make sense? This is a real good question. I had to really thinks about it. I’mma prolly put up a new blog post with some visuals about this problem, so keep an eye out for that. And good luck, girl.

Example:
1. the sum of 16 times a number and the number less another number times 3

2. a number less the sum of another number and 13