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Look at the following examples to see how algebraic expressions can be used to represent word problems.
Example 1
Katie eats a cookies and her brother Freddie eats 5 more than Katie.
We can write this as an algebraic expression:
Freddie eats a + 5 cookies.
Example 2
There are x number of sheep in a field and y number of cows.
The farmer doubles the number of sheep.
How many animals are there in the field now? Write this as an algebraic expression.
Answer
There are now 2x + y animals in the field.
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In the questions that follow, we're going to practise using algebra to express word problems.
Here is a list of some of the most important ways to express word problems using algebra. Have a read through and then we'll start on the questions.
| Expression | Word Problem |
|---|---|
| a + 4 | 4 more than a |
| a - 4 | 4 less than a |
| 4 - a | a less than 4 |
| 4a | 4 times a |
| a/4 | a ÷ 4 or ¼ of a |
| 3a + 4 | 4 more than 3 times a |
| a/2 - 6 | 6 less than half of a |
