Question

Write a variable expression to represent the phrase.

3 less than a number

Short answer

The variable expression for the given phrase is $x-3$.

Step-by-step solution

Step-1 – Concept of variable expression

A variable expression or algebraic expression consists of one or more terms including variables and numbers that are connected by algebraic operations .$+,-,\times ,÷$

Step-2 – Consider the number

Let the unknown number be x.

So, we need to find the difference of the number x and 3.

Step-3 – Write Variable expression

The term less refers to subtraction. So, in order to find the difference of the number x and 3, subtract 3 from x as shown below,

$\begin{array}{c}\text{3lessthananumber}=3\text{lessthanx}\\ =x-3\end{array}$

Thus, the variable expression for the given phrase is$x-3$.