Let be "n" the number mentioned in the exercise.
You need to remember that:
1. In Math word problems:
- The word "times" means multiplication.
- The word "twice" indicates that something is multiplied by 2.
- "Sum" is the result of an Addition.
2. In inequalities, "Less than" is represented with the following symbol:
Then, based on the above, you know that "3 times a number" can be expressed as:
And "Twice the same number":
Therefore, "The sum of 3 times a number and twice the same number is less than 45" can be represented with the following inequality:
The answer is: Option a.