Question

Sarah lost 12 pounds over the summer by jogging each week. By winter time, she had gained 4 3/8 pounds. Represent this situation with an expression involving signed numbers. What is the overall change in Sara's weight.

Answer 1

assume sarah's weight is m.
first, she lost 12 pounds,
this means that her weight became: m - 12 pounds
then, she gained 4 3/8 pounds, therefore, her current weight is: m-12+4 3/8 pounds
the total change in her weight is:
-12+4 3/8 = -7.625 pounds
the negative sign refers to the loss.
this means that the overall change is losing 7.625 pounds