Write and solve the equation

Question

1. Seven less than a number y is 8

2. Ten less than a number y is 19

Answer 1

Word problems are often written like this to throw students off, but it's a just a matter of going phrase by phrase to form each equation.

1) 7 less than y is 8

"7 less than y" tells us that y is the greater value, so you'd write that as y - 7

"is" can be written as your equal sign

The equation then turns into y - 7 = 8

Add 7 to both sides, and you're left with y = 15.

2) 10 less than y is 19

"10 less than y" tells us that we're taking 10 away from y, so you'd write that as y - 10

"is," again, is your equal sign

Your equation becomes y - 10 = 19

Add 10 to both sides, and you're left with y = 29.

Hope this helps!