The word equals divides the statement into what should be on the left-hand side and what should be on the right-hand side of the equation.
y=x-3
Practice makes perfect
We have been given a statement and we need to translate it into an equation.
The output is three less than the input.
Every equation has an equals sign and values or expressions on either side of it. Key words and phrases such as is,is equal to, and equals tell us about the placement of the equals sign.
The output
is
three less than the input.
⇕
The output
=
three less than the input.
On the left-hand side we have one key word, output. This word represents the variable y.
The output → y
On the right-hand side, the key words are the input and less than. These words represent the variable x and the operations that will be used in our equation. Less than indicates subtraction.
three less than the input →
x - 3
Putting these sides together, we have a complete equation.
y = x - 3
