Terms of a Variable

For some reason, as if fate won't allow it, I have never fully understood what "in terms of a certain value" meant. For example, in the following problem: One side of a triangle is x inches longer than another side. The ray bisecting the angle formed by these sides divides the opposite side into 3 and 5 inch segments. Find the perimeter IN TERMS OF x. I usually put x on one side of the equation and solve for the other side. However, what does this actually mean?

#NumberTheory

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Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

In an informal manner, that value can be present somewhere in the required expression.

Swapnil Das - 5 years, 11 months ago

I don't think that it must be present. I think it's more that it can be present.

Calvin Lin Staff - 5 years, 11 months ago

What would you definition be?

Taran Kota - 5 years, 11 months ago

@Taran Kota – "Express $A$ in terms of $B$ " means write an expression for $A$ which only uses constants and/or the variable $B$ . Most of the time, you are likely to use B, but that is not always guaranteed (esp if they are trying to mislead you).

Calvin Lin Staff - 5 years, 11 months ago

@Calvin Lin – Ok, I understood. Thanks for the help!

Taran Kota - 5 years, 11 months ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$