English-to-Math Translation

Just like you can translate a foreign language into one you know – like translating Spanish to English – it’s helpful in solving many word problems to translate English to “Math.”

Here is our English-to-Math dictionary:

“what number”	means	x
“percent”	means	divide by 100
“of” and “product”	means	multiply
“less”	means	minus
“sum” or “more than”	means	plus
“quotient”	means	divide
“is”	means	equals
“is to” or “per”	means	divide (ratio) and often a proportion
“twice a number”	means	2x
“x increased by 25%”	means	x + 0.25x

Using Variables to Express Relationships

You can use variables to write equations that model the facts stated in a question, then solve the equations. A question may present a word problem and ask you to select the equation or set of equations that best models the situation.