Question 1045788
let x be the number.
the formula would be:
(12-2x)/6


the difference of a and b means a - b.
the difference of b and a means b - a.
the comma indicates that you first take the difference of 12 and twice a number and then divide the result by 6.


it's not always clear cut, and the word problems are not always written well enough to make it clear, but following the guidelines referenced below should help.



here's some references:


<a href = "http://www.purplemath.com/modules/translat2.htm" targeet = "_blank">http://www.purplemath.com/modules/translat2.htm</a>


<a href = "http://www.algebralab.org/lessons/lesson.aspx?file=Algebra_OneVariableWritingEquations.xml" targeet = "_blank">http://www.algebralab.org/lessons/lesson.aspx?file=Algebra_OneVariableWritingEquations.xml</a>


<a href = "http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algebra/ae2/ptranssolveq.htm" targeet = "_blank">http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/algebra/ae2/ptranssolveq.htm</a>


<a href = "http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~lwalte19/Math081C5S7Text.pdf" targeet = "_blank">http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/~lwalte19/Math081C5S7Text.pdf</a>