Question

How do I write $4$ less than twice a number as an algebraic expression?

Answer 1

Hint: In this question, we need to find an expression that would satisfy the conditions given in the question. The final expression may contain arithmetic operations like addition/ subtraction/ multiplication/ division. We can use a variable$n$that refers to the number mentioned in the question,

Complete step by step solution:
In this question, we need to find an expression that satisfies the conditions given in the question. In the given question we have keywords like “less than” and “twice”. Here less than means the operation of subtraction. If the keyword is “greater than” we would use addition operation. The next keyword “twice” means the operation of multiplication. Let’s find the expression with the help of given keywords.

First, we have “4 less than” in the mean question
$4 -$

Next, we have”4 less than twice” in the mean question
$4 - 2\left( {} \right)$

Next, we have”4 less than twice a number” in the mean question
$4 - 2\left( n \right)$

Here we mention the number with the variable$n$.
So we get,
$4 - 2\left( n \right)$

The above equation can also be written as,
$4 - 2n$

So, the final algebraic expression which satisfies all the condition given in the question is given below,
$4 - 2n$

Note: In this type of question we would use arithmetic operations like addition/ subtraction/ multiplication/ division. Note that the keyword “less than” means the operation of subtraction. The keyword “twice” indicates the operation of multiplication. If we have the keyword “thrice” in the question we would multiply the number with$3$.