Clarify and Verify expression B+N-L or?...

[Jebediah]

A gold bracelet costs $130 less than a gold necklace. A gold locket costs $60 more than the gold necklace. Write the expression for the price of the bracelet plus the price of the necklace minus the price of the locket.
For this project, please translate the word problems below using the given directions.
(a) Define the variable being used. (See example 1 from section 6.3)
(b) Write the expression given in the problem; do not simplify at this step.
(c) Simplify the expression from part (b).


A: Addition or subtraction, not sure.
B: Bracelet+Necklace-Locket Or B+N-L
C: -130+60=-70 or 130-60=70

I keep getting confused on what the question is asking for, can any clarify and verify? Thanks in advance.

 

[mmm4444bot]

A gold bracelet costs $130 less than a gold necklace. A gold locket costs $60 more than the gold necklace. Write the expression for the price of the bracelet plus the price of the necklace minus the price of the locket.
For this project, please translate the word problems below using the given directions.
(a) Define the variable being used. (See example 1 from section 6.3)
(b) Write the expression given in the problem; do not simplify at this step.
(c) Simplify the expression from part (b).


A: Addition or subtraction, not sure. Part (a) instructs you to define your variables, like this:

B = Price of Bracelet
L = Price of Locket
N = Price of Necklace

B: Bracelet+Necklace-Locket Or B+N-L That's a good start! See below.

C: -130+60=-70 or 130-60=70

I keep getting confused on what the question is asking for, can any clarify and verify? Thanks in advance.

Read the beginning of the exercise again; focus on what they told you regarding the price of the bracelet and the price of the locket.

Using the symbol N, can you write an expression for the price of the bracelet?

How about for the locket?

Use those expressions for B and L, to finish part (b).

Then, try part (c) again. :cool:

 

[Jebediah]

I keep confusing myself... I have feeling I am misreading something or inversing... urg

If
B=N-130
L=N+60

"Using the symbol N, can you write an expression for the price of the bracelet?"
N-70=B

"How about for the locket?"

N+60=L

Is this what I am going for?... The example problems in my textbook don't explain "nomials" very well.
Edit: All I am sure of so far is N=70 and N could be replaced with the variable X since it is the only variable used in multiple... expressions?

 

[mmm4444bot]

B = N - 130 Yes, this is correct.

The expression N - 130 represents the price of the bracelet.

L = N + 60 Yes, this is correct.

The expression N + 60 represents the price of the locket.

"Using the symbol N, can you write an expression for the price of the bracelet?"
N-70=B Nope.

Not sure what you're thinking here. You already wrote the correct expression for the bracelet above.

All I am sure of so far is N=70

We don't know the price of the necklace. The exercise does not tell us.

N could be replaced with the variable X since it is the only variable used in multiple... expressions?

There's no need to change the variable name used for the price of the locket. I mean, you could, if you wanted to use symbol X instead of N. But, then you would then need to change all your answers above.

B = Price of Bracelet
L = Price of Locket
X = Price of Necklace

B = X - 130 and L = X + 60

Do you see that changing the name N to X does not really accomplish anything new? The particular letters that we choose to represent quantities in word problems don't matter that much; it's the relationships between them that are important.

Let's continue using the symbols that you picked at the beginning: B, L, and N.

Again, we now have:

B = N - 130

L = N + 60

N = N

Now, substitute the expressions for B and L in the following:

B + N - L

That's the answer to part (b).

Part (c) asks you to simplify part (b).