The sum of 5 times a number p and 6 is 31

Question

hi my name is andrew and i like sports

 

Answer 1

Hi Andrew! What sports do you like?

 

When figuring out how to right an algebraic equation, you should try and match the words with a mathematical operation (addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication). For this word problem, we have a few. "sum" suggests addition, "times" suggests multiplication, and "is" suggests equals. 

 

The word problem says "5 times a number p" --> 5p

The word problem also says "sum of 5 times a number p and 6" --> sum of 5p and 6 --> 5p+6

The word problem altogether says "sum of 5 times a number p and 6 is 31 --> 5p+6 is 31 --> 5p+6=31

 

Now, we can solve for "p".

5p+6=31

5p=31-6

5p=25

p=25/5

p=5

 

Hope this helps! Let me know if you don't understand anything I wrote.

 

Jackie