Question

How do you translate " ten less than five times the area of a triangle" into an algebraic expression?

Answer 1

`5A -10`

Explanation:

Let the area of triangle be `A`.

So, that translates to `color(red)(5A-10)`

Hope this helps :)

Answer 2

`5/2bh - 10`

Explanation:

If we break down each of the components of this, we can make it into an algebraic expression.

First, remember that the area of a triangle is `1/2bh`.

And they tell us to do `"5 times the area of a triangle"` so our equation will look like this so far:

`5(1/2bh) rarr 5/2bh`

The first part says "ten less than five times the area of a triangle", so we know that that part is going to be subtracted from the rest of the equation.

`5/2bh - 10`

A couple things to remember that are helpful:

1. "Less than" will always mean subtraction, whereas "more than" will always mean addition.

2. Translate words into algebraic equations in small pieces and then combine them - it makes it easier to solve!