the sum of a number and 5 is less than -7

Answer 1

A number: x

Sum of a number and 5: x + 5

So the statement in math notation looks like this:

x + 5 < -7

If you solve this inequality for x, it looks like this:

x + 5 - 5 < -7 - 5

x < -12

So any number that is less than negative twelve will work.

Answer 2