Words to Algebra Translator: Phrases, Patterns and Price Formulas

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Opens on Chapter 5’s example: “5 less than twice a number”, tested at 10.

1. A phrase

The phrase

Test with the number

2. A table with a steady jump

n and output, one pair a line up to six pairs

Output at n =

3. A fixed fee plus a rate

Fixed fee

Rate per item

Items

Or: what does this total buy?

Load another example from the book

Enter your numbers, then press Work it out.

How it works

Translate one phrase at a time. “More than” adds, so 5 more than 2n is 2n + 5; “less than” turns the order round, so 5 less than 2n is 2n − 5, not 5 − 2n. Test any translation with an easy number. In a table, if the output jumps by the same amount each time n goes up by 1, the rule is jump × n plus the value at n = 0 (the first output minus one jump). A fixed fee plus a rate per item works backward too: take off the fee, then divide by the rate.

From the book, Chapter 5. At n = 10, “5 less than twice a number” is 15; the reversed 5 − 2n gives −15. The table 7, 11, 15 jumps by 4 and starts from 3, so n = 10 gives 43; the matchsticks make 31 for ten squares. Sanjay’s 12 + 0.40s is $92 for 200 sheets and $212 for 500, and $60 buys 120 sheets. A 15% tip on $40 plus $2 parking is $8; tipping on the parking too gives $6.30. Every chapter and its calculator →

Numbers can be typed as 1,450, $38, 0.40, 12%, 1/6 or 2 3/8. The algebra is done with exact fractions, so 1/3 stays 1/3; decimals are rounded half up, the way the book rounds. Everything stays in your browser: no sign-up, nothing stored or sent.