One less than the product of 8 and Mabel’s age

Question

use the variable m to represent Mabel’s age

Answer 1

The term “product” refers to the act of multiplying. The letter M represents Mabel’s age. When it says the “product of 8 and Mabel’s age”, it is saying that Mabel’s age needs to be multiplied by 8. This can be represented by “8M”.

The phrase “one less than” refers to subtracting one. So “one less than the product of 8 and Mabel’s age” can be written as: 8M- 1.

Answer 2

"one less than" indicates subtraction: something minus one

product indicates multiplication: 8 times something

If we use the variable M to represent Mabel's age, and we are saying something (let's use "y" for the something) is ONE less than EIGHT times Mabel's age, then we have:

(Y) = 8M-1

Or, simply

8M-1