7 less than something means something minus 7, so we can start forming this expression with:(something) - 7Then we have the product of - 3 and the absolute value of x, which is just multiplying the two, or (-3 * |x| ). So (somthing) is (-3*|x|).-3*|x| - 7And this is how we would write it in mathematical notation. Except if you're writing with pencil and paper, you have to leave out the asterisk :-)