Lesson: Basic Algebra - 14t01

Translating English into Math

Each word problem will contain certain key phrases that can clue you in to the algebraic functions needed for the solution. By reading carefully, you can catch these key words and proceed to translate them into math.
Let’s look at our previous example. div>

What number is 16 more than the product of itself and six?

Type your translation into the field provided and then click Continue.
What number is . . .
Translation: x=



Whenever you read “what” in a word problem, that’s your cue to stick in a variable. Call that unknown number x or whatever you feel like. And whenever you read “is” , that translates as =. So you should have typed something like: x =

It’s a good idea to avoid the letters “o” and “i” when picking letters to stand in as variables—they’re too easily confused with the numbers “0” and “1”.

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