Question

Leah scored 35 points in a basketball game and she scored x points in the

first half of the game. Write an expression to determine the number of
points she scored in the second half of the game. Then, find the number
of points she scored in the first half of the game if she scored 17 points in
the second half of the game.

Answer 1

x = # of points scored in the first half of the game

35 - x <---- This expression tells us how many points Leah scored in the second half of the game.

Leah scored 17 points in the second half of the game, let's set our expression equal to 17

35 - x = 17

Subtract 35 from both sides

-x = -18

Divide both sides by -1

x = 18

Leah scored 18 points in the first half of the game.