You were busy working on a problem using 4 big squares, 8 rectangles, and 8 small squares. Your partner accidentally knocked some algebra tiles off the your desk. You now have 1 big square, 3 rectangles, and 5 small squares on your desk.
Write and algebraic equation that shows what tiles you began with, what you partner knocked off the desk, and how many tiles you have left.
errrr, I don't get it?
help ?
Sure, I can help you understand it better.
In this problem, we are given the information about the number of big squares, rectangles, and small squares before and after your partner knocked some tiles off your desk.
Let's denote the number of big squares as "b", the number of rectangles as "r", and the number of small squares as "s".
According to the problem, you initially had 4 big squares, 8 rectangles, and 8 small squares. So, we can represent this equation as:
Initial tiles: b = 4, r = 8, s = 8
Now, your partner accidentally knocked off some tiles, leaving you with 1 big square, 3 rectangles, and 5 small squares. So, we can represent this equation as:
Partner knocked off tiles: b - 1, r - 3, s - 5
Finally, the problem asks how many tiles you have left. So, we can represent this equation as:
Tiles left: b - 1, r - 3, s - 5
Thus, the algebraic equation that shows what tiles you began with, what your partner knocked off, and how many tiles you have left is:
Initial tiles - Partner knocked off tiles = Tiles left
b = 4 - 1
r = 8 - 3
s = 8 - 5
Algebraic equation: b - 1 = 3, r - 3 = 5, s - 5 = 3