Remember the order of operations.
What operation do the sum of and plus represent?
(15+x)+7
Practice makes perfect
We are asked to make an algebraic expression for the given verbal expression. The key phrases are the sum of and plus.
They both indicate addition. We can rewrite them using the same operation but we need to remember about the order of operations.
... +...
Let's first rewrite the sum of ... and ... The two terms that we are adding together are 15 and and an arbitrary number x. Since 15 comes first in the verbal expression, it should be on the left-hand side of the addition.
& the sum of 15 and x
& 15 + x
Now, we have the second key phrase, ... plus .... This indicates that we should increase the existing expression by the other term using addition.
&... + ...
The two quantities that we are adding together are 15+x and 7. We are increasing the expression 15+x by the other term, so it should be written first in the addition. When we are performing operations on an existing expression, we can separate them using the parentheses.
& 15+x plus 7
& (15+x) + 7
Note that this is only one of multiple ways to algebraically express the given verbal expression.
