Translating a sentence into a multi step equation

Question

Five less than the product of 7 and a number equals 2, use the variable c for the unknown number

Answer 1

Let's break it down into smaller parts:

"Five less than" would look like what? Don't get confused here with the words "less than". We aren't talking about an inequality. We are simply taking 5 away from a number we haven't determined yet. So, "five less than" would simply be '- 5'.

"the product of". Whenever you see the word "product", that means you are multiplying. What are we multiplying here? We are multiplying "7 and a number". If we use 'c' to represent our "number", then "the product of 7 and a number" would be 7 times 'c'. Or simply 7c.

"equals 2" would look like '= 2'.

So bringing it all together would look like 7c-5=2.