Question

a zoologist is recording the loss of wolves in her state. she notes the number of wolves, w, in the state on january 1. one year later, there were 84 wolves in the state, which is 23 fewer wolves than were in the state a year earlier. what is the number of wolves in the state on january 1? which equation can be used to find the number of wolves in the state on january 1?

Answer 1

To determine the original number of wolves on January 1st, we use the equation w - 23 = 84. Solving this, we find that w, the number of wolves at the start of the year, was 107.

Step-by-step explanation:

The number of wolves, w, in the state on January 1st can be found by setting up an equation that accounts for the decrease in the wolf population. Since it is given that one year later there were 84 wolves, which is 23 wolves fewer than the previous year, we can express this as:

w - 23 = 84

To find the original number of wolves on January 1st, we need to solve for w:

w = 84 + 23

w = 107

Thus, there were 107 wolves in the state on January 1st before their numbers decreased.