Question

what would the phrase "three times the sum of a number and 4" look like as a variable expression? 3(3x 4) 3x 4 3x−4 3(x 4)

Answer 1

It would be
(X + 3) times 3

Answer 2

3 * (x+4)

Explanation:

It says three times the sum of a number and 4.

We can express the number we don't know with an x. So the phrase is saying that we have the sum of a number and 4 which is the same as writing:

x+4

Also, it says three times this sum; so we know that the sum is being multiplied by 3:

3 * (x+4)

If we read this it will be the same as the phrase "three times the sum of a number and 4)