Final answer:
The farmer originally had 18 chickens before the snowstorm. This was determined by adding back the 6 missing chickens to the 12 that remained after the storm, yielding the original total amount of chickens.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve the problem, we first need to identify the unknown and the knowns. In this case, the unknown is the number of chickens the farmer had before the snowstorm, which we can call x. The knowns are that six chickens went missing during a snowstorm, and there are twelve chickens left. Using this information, we can write the equation as:
x - 6 = 12
This equation represents the fact that the original number of chickens (x) minus the six that went missing equals the twelve chickens that are left. To find the value of x, we need to isolate x on one side of the equation. We do this by adding 6 to both sides:
x = 12 + 6
x = 18
The farmer originally had 18 chickens before the snowstorm. To ensure the answer is reasonable, we check that the units make sense (number of chickens) and the numbers involved are reasonable. In this case, the answer is satisfactory as it is a sensible amount of chickens for a farmer to own and it mathematically adds up with the given information.