Question

A football team gained 12 yards on one play and then lost 26 yards on the next. How many yards do they need to gain to get back to their starting position

Answer 1

1) Gathering the data

1st play: 12 yrds

2nd play: -26yrds

2) Let's sketch this:

So they started on 0, gained 12 in the absolute value we have

They lost -26 +12 =-14

They need to gain 14 yards to get back to the starting position before the 1st play.