Writing Mathematical Expressions

Writing Mathematical Expressions

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Math is a language. Many problems will require you to “translate” math into words, or to express an English phrase in mathematical terms. We’ve provided a list below of the common terms and phrases used in mathematical expressions. Look it over, and then test your skills on the quiz!

Addition:

• added to: three added to two is 3 + 2
• plus: twelve plus seven is 12 + 7
• sum: the sum of six and four is 6 + 4
• more than: five more than three is 3 + 5
• increased by: eight increased by seven is 8 + 7
• total: the total of nineteen and six is 19 + 6

Subtraction:

• subtracted from: three subtracted from six is 6 − 3
• minus: twelve minus eleven is 12− 11
• difference: the difference between eighteen and ten is 18 − 10 (Difference is always positive, so put the bigger number first if both are positive.)
• less than: six less than seventeen is 17 − 6
• decreased by: twenty decreased by six is 20 − 6
• fewer than: three fewer than seven is 7 − 3

Multiplication:

• times: six times four is 6 × 4 or 6(4)
• multiplied by: ten multiplied by three is 10 × 3 or 10(3)
• product: the product of two and five is 2 × 5 or 2(5)
• groups of: five groups of six is 5 × 6 or 5(6)
• of: seven of a number is 7x

Division:

• divided by: ten divided by two is 10 ÷ 2 or 10/2
• divided into: twelve divided into three is 12 ÷ 3 or 12/3
• quotient: the quotient of nine and three is 9 ÷ 3 or 9/3
• per: twenty per five is 20 ÷ 5 or 20/5

Roots:

• root of: the root of four is √4
• square root of: the square root of sixteen is √15
• cube root of: the cube root of eight is ∛8

Exponents:

• squared: seven squared is 7²
• cubed: eleven cubed is 11³
• to the ____ power: six to the fifth power is 6⁵
• raised to the ____ power: ten raised to the thirteenth power is 10¹³

Variables:

• a number: fourteen less a number is 14 − x
• an unknown number: an unknown number added to four is 4 + y
• some number: seven multiplied by some number is 7b