Question

The receivers for the Springdale University football team are practicing running different routes on the field. They have to run a specific distance so that the quarterback knows exactly where to throw the ball. Nick ran 18 post routes and 21 slant routes, which meant he ran a total of 498 yards. Zack ran 15 post routes and 21 slant routes, which equaled a total of 450 yards. How long is each route?​

Answer 1

• post: 16 yards
• slant: 10 yards

Explanation:

You want to find the lengths of the post and slant routes run by Nick and Zack. Nick's 498 yards were 18 post and 21 slant routes. Zack's 450 yards were 15 post and 21 slant routes.

Setup

Using the given information, we can write a system of equations for the route lengths. Here are Nick's and Zack's totals, respectively.

18p +21s = 498

15p +21s = 450

Solution

Subtracting the second equation from the first, we have ...

(18p +21s) -(15p +21s) = (498) -(450)

3p = 48

p = 16

Using this value in the second equation, we have ...

15(16) +21s = 450

21s = 210 . . . . . . . subtract 240

s = 10 . . . . . . . . . divide by 21

The post routes were 16 yards; the slant routes were 10 yards.