Final answer:
Zach's football team moved the football a total of 31 yards from the starting point after three downs by adding the yardage from each down: +35 yards, then -12 yards, and finally +8 yards.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question relates to changes in position on a football field and requires basic addition and subtraction to solve. To find out how many yards from the starting point Zach's football team moved the football in the three downs, we simply add and subtract the yardage from each down.
Here's the calculation:
- First down: +35 yards
- Second down: -12 yards
- Third down: +8 yards
Adding these together, we get:
35 yards - 12 yards + 8 yards = 31 yards
Therefore, Zach's football team moved the football 31 yards from the starting point after the three downs.