There are 5 times as many yellow labs as terriers in the dog park. If there are a total of 18 dogs, how many are terriers?

Question

need help with math question above please

Answer 1

An easy way to solve this is to set up an equation.

 

We will use the variable L for Yellow Labs and T for Terriers.

 

If there are 5 times as many Labs as there are Terriers, we would set up an equation that looks like this:

 

5T + T = 18

 

The 5T actually represents the Labs, because 5T means 5 x T or 5 multiplied by T

 

To simplify, we would all 5T + T and get 6T

 

6T = 18

 

Lastly, we would divide both sides by 6 to get the variable T alone.

 

6T = 18

/6     /6

T  =    3

 

So, we know there are 3 Terriers. To find out how many Labs, we multiple 3 (number of Terriers), by 5 and get 15.

 

To check our work, we add 3 +15 and we get 18, the total number of dogs at the park!

 

5T + T = 18

6T = 18

/6 =  /6

T  =  3

 

T x 5 = L

3 x 5 = 15

 

Therefore, T = 3  and L = 15