Four times the sum of a number and 3 equals 9

Answer 1

Don't forget Tyeisha that it's very important to read the problem a few times to fully understand what is being stated and then how to write it out! Examine the words closely, for example:

The word "sum" means addition.

The word "times" means multiplication; in algebra, this operation is often indicated with the use of parenthesis; for example, 4(3) means 4x3 and 4(x) means 4 times an unknown number. I'm just using x here because it is used a great deal in algebra.

The phrase "of a number" means that it is an unknown number, which means that we have to substitute that unknown number with a variable; let's use the letter or variable x as the unknown number.

The numbers 4 and 3 are called "constants" in algebra because they will always be the numbers 4 and 3.

Here we go:

Let's first group together the information in the phrase "the sum of a number and 3" like this: (x + 3)

Then notice the problem states "4 times the sum of a number and 3," so this means to put the number 4 in front of what you have just grouped together to indicate that it will be multiplied by 4. It will look like this: 4(x+3)

Lastly, notice the problem states that all of this equals (which means this sign =) 9, so our finished equation will look this:

4(x+3) = 9

I sure hope that this helped!!

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