7th grade intro to algebra!!! i cant understand....?

Question

the product of 3 and n....

which one goes first n or 3?

does it look like this n + 3

or

this 3 + n???

PLS HELP ME!!!

Answer 1

The product of a number and a variable is written with the number (known as the coefficient) first, then the variable:

3n

This means that 3 is times the value of n.

If you did n + 3 or 3 + n, you're adding, not multiplying.  

If you were adding, the order doesn't matter, but when you're multiplying, 3n is the proper way to do it.

If you write it like:  n3, people may confuse it with n to the third power (n³)