Try to break the expression down into terms and operations, then break those terms into factors.
Example Solution: 9 less than the quotient of z and 8.
Practice makes perfect
Our approach to representing the given algebraic expression verbally will be to break it down into terms and operations.
z/8 - 9In this expression, the second term is being subtracted from the first one. Let's break it down into more digestible pieces.
Algebraic Term
Verbal Translation
z
a number z
z/8 ⇔ z÷ 8
the quotient of z and 8
-
less than
Now that we have translated each of the pieces, let's bring it all together. The number 9 is subtracted from the result of the division, thus it should be the first term in the ... less than ... expression.
& z/8 - 9 [0.5em]
& 9less than the quotient of a number z and 8
Note that this is only one of many ways to write this expression.
