Question

The temperature in Springfield at 10:00 am was 78 degrees F. During the day, it dropped to 56 degrees F. Write and solve an equation to find the decrease in temp.

Answer 1

Step 1. The initial temperature at 10:00 am was 78 degrees F, then there was a decrease in temperature and it dropped to 56 degrees F.

Let x be the decrease in temperature.

Step 2. The equation that will help us solve the problem is:

`78-x=56`

This is because 78 is the original temperature, and after a decrease of x degrees, the final temperature is 56.

Step 3. Now that we have the equation, we need to solve for x.

To solve for x, subtract 78 to both sides of the equation:

`\begin{gathered} -x=56-78 \\ -x=-22 \\ \downarrow\downarrow \\ x=22 \end{gathered}`

The decrease in temperature was 22 degrees.

Answer: The equation is

78-x=56

The solution

x=22