Question

Lou wants to lose weight to audition for a part in a play. He weighs 160 pounds now. He wants to weigh 150 pounds.

a. If p represents the number of pounds he wants to lose, write an equation to represent this situation.
b. How many pounds does he need to lose to reach his goal?

Answer 1

To represent the situation, the equation is 160 - p = 150. Lou needs to lose 10 pounds to reach his goal weight of 150 pounds.

Step-by-step explanation:

a) The equation to represent the situation is: 160 - p = 150. This equation represents Lou's current weight (160 pounds) minus the number of pounds he wants to lose (p) equals his goal weight (150 pounds).

b) To find how many pounds Lou needs to lose to reach his goal, we can solve the equation from part a) for p. Subtracting 150 from both sides of the equation, we get: p = 160 - 150 = 10 pounds. Lou needs to lose 10 pounds to reach his goal weight of 150 pounds.