Heather finished a race in 58.4 seconds, which was 2.6 seconds less than her practice time. Write and solve an equation to find Heather's practice time.

Question

show that your answer is reasonable

Answer 1

Heather's finishing time is 2.6 seconds less than her practice time, so

Finishing time=Practice time - 2.6 seconds. 
Let P=practice time.

58.4 = P -2.6

Add 2.6 to both sides: 61 = P.

Don't forget your units! P = 61 seconds.