Question

A person who initially weighs 250 pounds loses 2 pounds per week. Let t represent the number of weeks and let W represent the person's weight, in pounds: W = − 2 t + 250

a. What is the person's weight after twelve weeks?
b. After how many weeks will the person weigh 234 pounds?

Answer 1

a. 226 pounds

b. 8 weeks

Explanation:

To solve this problem, simply plug in the numbers for the variables it told you they correspond to. 12 is the number of weeks, and t represents the number of weeks, so we can plug 12 in for t.

`W=-2(12)+250`

Simplify and you'll have your answer.

`W=-24+250\\W=226`

For part B, 234 is the amount of pounds, and W represents the weight in pounds, so we can plug 234 in for W.

`234=-2t+250\\-16=-2t\\8=t`