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

Apr 7, 2018

$5 A - 10$

#### Explanation:

Let the area of triangle be $A$.

So, that translates to $\textcolor{red}{5 A - 10}$

Hope this helps :)

Apr 7, 2018

$\frac{5}{2} b h - 10$

#### 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 $\frac{1}{2} b h$.

And they tell us to do $\text{5 times the area of a triangle}$ so our equation will look like this so far:

$5 \left(\frac{1}{2} b h\right) \rightarrow \frac{5}{2} b h$

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.

$\frac{5}{2} b h - 10$

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!