On its first three plays in a football game, the offense gains 6 yards,loses 5 yards, and then gains 7 yards. Write an equation that could be used to find y, the number of yards needed on the fourth play for the overall 10-yard gain required for the first down. Could you please help me with this question?
Thank You! have a happy new year
y=10-(1st down yards - 2nd down yards + 3rd down yards)
Of course! To find the equation that relates the number of yards needed on the fourth play to achieve a 10-yard gain for the first down, let's break down the situation.
On the first three plays, the offense gains 6 yards, loses 5 yards, and then gains 7 yards. The net gain after these three plays is:
Net gain = (6 yards) + (-5 yards) + (7 yards)
Net gain = 6 - 5 + 7
Therefore, the net gain after the first three plays is 8 yards.
Now, we need to find the number of yards needed on the fourth play to achieve a total gain of 10 yards for the first down. Let's represent the number of yards required on the fourth play as 'y'.
To calculate the overall gain after all four plays, we add the yardage gained on the fourth play to the net gain after the first three plays:
Overall gain = Net gain + Number of yards gained on the fourth play
Overall gain = 8 yards + y
Since we want the overall gain to be 10 yards for the first down, we can set up the equation:
10 yards = 8 yards + y
Simplifying the equation, we can isolate 'y' by subtracting 8 from both sides:
10 yards - 8 yards = y
2 yards = y
So, the equation that relates the number of yards needed on the fourth play to achieve a 10-yard gain for the first down is:
y = 2
Therefore, the offense needs to gain 2 yards on the fourth play to achieve the 10-yard gain required for the first down.
I hope this helps! Happy New Year to you too!