Question

A football player caught the ball and made a gain of 8yards on the first play. On the next play the team lost 12 yards. How many yards do they need to gain on the next play to get back their original position

Answer 1

Let’s start at 0 yards. If the team gained 8 yards, that would be 0+8 (so, just 8 yards). They lost 12 on the next play, so that would be 0+8-12, which is equal to -4 yards. We need to get back to 0 yards, so we can make an equation:

x-4=0

We know that 4 - 4 equals 0, so the answer would be 4 yards.

Answer 2

Alright, so let's say the football team was at the 50 yard line. They gained 8 yards on the first play when throwing a ball. That means for the second play, they are at 58 yards. On the second play, they lost 12 yards, so we should subtract 12 to get out final answer. 58-12=46. That means they must gain another 4 yards to get to their original starting position at 50 yards.

Answer: They need to gain another 4 yards to reach their original position.