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UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE
• It is precise
• It can be stated clearly
• It is concise
• It can be stated briefly
• It is powerful
• It is capable of expressing complex ideas into simpler forms
• It is nontemporal
• No tenses which makes it so unique as compared to other
languages.
• It also has vocabulary and parts of speech.
PARTS OF SPEECH FOR MATHEMATICS
• Numbers
• First symbols that can be used to represent quantity.
• These are nouns (objects) in the English language.
• Operation symbols
• +, ÷, ^, and v can act as connectives in a mathematical
sentence.
• Relation symbols
• =, ≤, and ~ are used for comparison and act as verbs in the
mathematical language.
• Grouping symbols
• ( ), { }, and [ ] are used to associate groups of numbers and
operators.
• Variables
• Letters that represent quantities and act as pronouns
MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION
Objects of interest acting as the subject in the ordinary language.
MATHEMATICAL SENTENCE
• Sentence with a complete thought
• Can be regarded as true or false
THE FOLLOWING ARE EXAMPLES OF
MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSIONS
y + 16
b+8
4+m
* All do not state complete thoughts.
THE FOLLOWING ARE MATHEMATICAL
SENTENCES
• The sum of five and a number is three.
• 5+n=3
• The difference between five and twice a number is one.
• 5 – 2n = 1
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ARE SENTENCES?
DETERMINE IF THE SENTENCES ARE TRUE OR
FALSE:
1. 9 is an odd number.
2. The sum of a number and 9
3. 1+2=4
4. 2
5. x+1=2
FIND OTHER NAMES FOR THE NUMBER “19”
USING THE FOLLOWING SYMBOLS:
• -
• +
• •
IDENTIFY THE VERB IN EACH SENTENCE.
DETERMINE WHETHER THE SENTENCE IS TRUE
OR FALSE.
1. 9 is an odd number.
2. Wednesday comes before Monday.
3. 4 + 4 = 8
4. −10⋅10<−19
5. s<1
CLASSIFY IF EACH ITEM IS AN EXPRESSION OR
A SENTENCE
1. 89
2. 18/7<6
3. −8⋅1
4. 6m
5. q+20=−16
6. 3/7=0
7. −20⋅12<14
8. −4−14
9. 11+19=30
10. 19r−6c
11. −18⋅10
12. 12/9
 A L
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The ability to translate verbal phrases has
real-life application…
Suppose you wanted to throw a party and you
only have $250 to work with…you contact
several catering companies and they give
you prices ranging from $7.50 to $10.00 per
person…you also have to buy decorations
with the $250.00
In real life you will need to be able to calculate
the total cost to know that you have enough
money to pay for the party…Which will tell
you how many friends you can invite…
In this instance you can create an algebraic
expression to know the number of friends
you can invite and to make sure that you
stay within your budget.
TRANSLATING VERBAL PHRASES
The key to translating verbal phrases it to know what the
English words mean mathematically…
It’s expected that you know the words that mean add,
subtract, multiply and divide
Let’s do a quick review to refresh your memory…
 WORDS THAT MEAN ADD OR
SUBTRACT
Addition Subtraction

Plus Minus
Increased by
Less
Subtract
Sum In all Less than

More than Decreased by

Total Difference
 WORDS THAT MEAN MULTIPLY OR
DIVIDE
Multiply Divide

Times Divided
Rate
Multiplied
Product
Quotient
Each
An, in, or per
Of
Factors Separate Ratio
TRANSLATING VERBAL PHRASES
The starting point to translate verbal
phrases is to identify the variable first…
Most often you will know what the variable
is by the phrase “a number”…
One more thing that you need to know…the
Commutative Property applies to addition
and multiplication…generally, the
property states “it doesn’t matter which
order you add or multiply…you will get
the same results”
However, when subtracting or dividing it
DOES matter which order you place the
numbers….
 EXAMPLE # 1

Five years older than her brother

1.First identify the variable…in this case the variable is her brother’s
age…lets call that a
2. The term “older than” means to add
3. Five years means the number 5

So the above expression can be written as:

5+a
 COMMENTS

It is very difficult to teach this concept to students as each student

reads and has a different understanding…
However, the key to converting expressions and equations to
algebraic terms is identifying the variable first…
Finally…there is no getting around it…to master this concept…you
must practice it…you will definitely see this on my tests, county
semester tests, and FCAT
 STRATEGIES

Some strategies that you can use when working with this concept
are:
 Read the expression or sentence more than once…
 Use colored markers, pencils or highlighters to identify each term
 Underline, circle, or box each of the terms as you identify them
Lets look at some more examples….
EXAMPLE # 2
Six dollars an hour times the number of hours

1. Hour is the variable …let’s call it h

2. Times means to multiply
3. Six dollars means the number 6

The algebraic expression is:

6 ∙ h This can also be written as 6h
EXAMPLE # 3
Three more than the quantity five
times a number

1. 5 times a number is the variable …let’s call it 5n

2. More than means to add
3. Three means the number 3

The algebraic expression is:

5n + 3
EXAMPLE # 4
Two less than the sum of 6 and a number m
1. A number m is the variable
2. The sum of 6 and m means to add
3. Two less than means to subtract 2
4. In this instance you have to add
before you subtract…so the sum of 6
and m would go in parenthesis

The algebraic expression is:

(6 + m) – 2
EXAMPLE # 5
A number x decreased by the sum of 10 and the
square of a number y
1. A number x is the variable
2. Decreased means to subtract
3. The sum means to add
4. In this instance you have to add the sum
of 10 and the square of a number y.
Since you have to perform this function
first before you subtract …10 and the
square of y would go in parenthesis

The algebraic expression is:

x – ( 10 + y2)
VERBAL SENTENCES
You can also translate verbal sentences into equations and
inequalities
The word “is” and “total” mean equal
The words for inequalities are as follows:
Less than <
Less than or equal to ≤
Greater than >
Greater than or equal to ≥
EXAMPLE # 6
Nine less than the product of ten and a number
d is eleven

1. The variable is 10 and a number d, which

is written as 10d
2. Nine less means to subtract 9
3. “is” means equal
4. The total is 11

The algebraic expression is:

10d – 9 = 11
COMMENTS

On the next couple of slides are some practice problems…The

answers are on the last slide…
Do the practice and then check your answers…If you do not get
the same answer you must question what you did…go back
and problem solve to find the error…
If you cannot find the error bring your work to me and I will
help…
YOUR TURN
Translate the verbal phrase into an algebraic expression. Use
x for the variable in your expression
1. Nine more than an number
2. Three more than ½ a number
3. The quotient of a number and two tenths
4. The difference of ten and a number
5. Five squared minus a number
YOUR TURN
Write each sentence as an algebraic equation
or inequality

6. Nine is greater than three times a number

7. Twenty-five is the quotient of a number y
and 3.5
8. Three times the quantity two less than a
number x is ten
9. The quotient of thirty-five and a number t
is less than or equal to seven
10. A number q is equal to or greater than
one hundred
YOUR TURN SOLUTIONS
1. 9 + x or x + 6. 9 > 3x
9 7. 25 = y/3.5
2. ½x + 3 or 3 8. 3(2 – x) = 10
+ ½x
9. 35/t ≤ 7
3. x  2/10
10.q ≥ 100
4. 10 – x
5. 52 – x