Which of the following expressions could be interpreted as "a number times negative seven added to five equals two"?

It depends on how you interpret the statement.

( x * -7 ) + ( 5 - 2 )

x * ( -7 + 5 ) - 2

Step-by-step explanation:

"a number times negative seven added to five equals two"

Let's set as our number.

So the statement would translate to:

To simplify, we might try to organize things by adding some parentheses. But that's when things start to get a little.....dicey.

Depending on how you interpret the original statement, both and can satisfy the statement.

Herein lies our problem. Which of the two expressions is correct?

Well.....both of them, actually. It just depends on how you're interpreting the statement and what options you have available.

If you can only pick one, but all of the expressions are possible options, then you're kind of stuck.