Question

What is half the sum of x and y decreased by one-third y as a algebraic expression

Answer 1

1/2(x+y) - 1/3

Explanation:

I think this may be the answer based on the info you've given

Answer 2

`(1)/(2)(x+y) - (1)/(3)y`

Explanation:

We can translate these words into an expression by just reading them and interpreting them.

Half the sum of x and y.

We know that it's going to include
`(x+y)`, and if we're taking half of that, we multiply that by
`(1)/(2)`, so
`(1)/(2)(x+y)`

We also know that one third of y will be multiplying y by
`(1)/(3)`, so
`(1)/(3)y`.

Since we are decreasing
`(1)/(2)(x+y)` by
`(1)/(3)y`, there's a minus sign between the terms.

So,
`(1)/(2)(x+y) - (1)/(3)y`.

Hope this helped!