Practise Translating Word Problems into Algebra

In a previous activity, we represented word problems using algebraic expressions.

Let's take it a bit further.

 

If you decided to go to the shop to buy a chocolate bar and your friends then asked you to get one for them, you would not write the order like this:

1 lumpy caramel chewy 

1 lumpy caramel chewy

1 lumpy caramel chewy

1 nutty caramel chewy

1 nutty caramel chewy

 

 

It has to be easier to write 3L + 2N where L means lumpy and N means nutty.

 

What about this one?

If I wrote 2P what could it mean?

 

Answer - Well, we don't know what P is (it could be absolutely anything, clouds, sweets, cars, apples .....) but we do know that there are 2 of them. 

 

A question could look like this:

 

Example

What does 2f + 4h - 5t mean?

 

Answer

f multiplied by 2, add h multiplied by 4, subtract t multiplied by 5

 

So, now we know how to get from the statement to the algebraic expression ........... and back again!

 

Let's try some questions!