The phrase is divides the sentence into what should be on the left-hand side and what should be on the right-hand side of the equation.
17+q=40
Practice makes perfect
We are given a word sentence and we want to write an equation that it represents.
17 plus a number q is 40.
Every equation has an equals sign and values or expressions on either side of this symbol. Key phrases, such as is,is equal to, and equals tell us about the placement of the equals sign.
17 plus a number q is 40. ⇕
17 plus a number q = 40.
On the left-hand side, we have the phrase 17 plus a number q. These words tell us that q is a variable symbol and that the operation that will be used in our inequality is the addition. This is because of the word plus.
17 plus a number q = 40. ⇕
17 + q = 40.
On the left-hand side, we have the constant 17, and on the right-hand side, 40. If we put these sides together, we have a complete equality.
17 plus a number q is 40. ⇕
17 + q = 40
