To find out how many dresses Zoe can sew and still have 4 spools of thread left, we will use the equation provided:
\[ s = -d + 12 \]
We know that \( s = 4 \) (the number of spools remaining). We can substitute this value into the equation and solve for \( d \):
\[ 4 = -d + 12 \]
Now, let's solve for \( d \):
- Subtract 12 from both sides:
\[ 4 - 12 = -d \] \[ -8 = -d \]
- Multiply both sides by -1:
\[ d = 8 \]
So, Zoe can sew at most 8 dresses and still have 4 spools of thread left.