word problem

Question

There are 3 less than twice as many cats than dogs in the local animal shelter. If there are 210 cats and dogs combined, how many dogs are in the animal shelter?

Answer 1

Let x = the number of dogs

Let 2x - 3 = the number of cats

x + 2x - 3 = 210

3x = 213

x = 71 dogs

2x - 3 = 2(71) - 3 = 142 - 3

number of cats = 139