Question

Working together, Joy and Steve collected 39 pounds of aluminum cans for recycling. If Joy collected j pounds, which of the following shows the number of pounds collected by Steve?

Answer 1

The number of pounds collected by Steve is
`39-j`

Explanation:

Let

j----> the number of pounds collected by Joy

s ---> the number of pounds collected by Steve

we know that

`j+s=39`

Solve for s

That means-----> Isolate the variable s

Subtract j both sides

`s=39-j`