"Less than" indicates subtraction and "times" indicates multiplication.
5m-8
Practice makes perfect
In this verbal expression, we have two key phrases: "less than" and "times." These words tell us the operations that will be used in the algebraic expression. "Less than" indicates subtraction. In this case, we are subtracting 8 from something.
Eight less than
... - 8
Meanwhile, "times" indicates multiplication. Here we are multiplying 5 by "a number." Let's call this unknown number m.
five times a number
5*m
We can join these two parts together, to get the complete algebraic expression.
Eight less than five times a number
5*m - 8
We do not need the show a multiplication symbol when multiplying numbers and variables, so we can simplify the expression just a little bit.
5* m-8⇔ 5m-8
