How can I improve translating words into math?

Ex) pg 47. #2, I got the answer A, but the correct one is C?

What am I mixing up? It happened with multiple questions

Here’s that question for everyone following along.

If you picked A, then you put the fraction on the wrong side of the equation. Hilda has 1/3 of the money Geraldine has, which translates to . If the algebra is turning you around, plugging in can be helpful here. Say Geraldine has $6. If Hilda has 1/3 of Geraldine’s amount, then Hilda has $2. . Does that help?

Generally, you get better at these by practicing a lot, and by doing what I just did above—plugging in numbers to make sure what you’re writing algebraically fits nicely with what the question says in words.