Question

Which of the following sentences could not be used to represent the equation x - 5 = -10? A number subtracted from five is equal to negative ten. A number less five equals negative ten. Five less than a number is negative ten. If a number is decreased by five, the result is negative ten.

Answer 1

That would be the first choice.
A number subtracted from 5 = 5-x not x-5.

Answer 2

The given equation is x - 5 = -10.

We can write x-5 in several ways like

1) x less 5

2) 5 less than x

3) x is decreased by 5.

But the first statement "A number subtracted from five" is not correct because x-5 means we are subtracting 5 from x not x from 5.

So, the first sentences could not be used to represent the equation x - 5 = -10.