Question

Susan planted a flower garden in the spring, but a family of mischievous bunnies ate 39 of the flowers she planted! Susan installed a fence around her garden to save the 81 flowers that were left.
Let p represent how many flowers Susan planted. Which equation models the problem?
Solve this equation to find how many flowers Susan planted.
flowers

Answer 1

Let p be the number she planted. After the bunnies ate 39, 81 remained, so

p − 39 = 81.

Add 39 to both sides: p = 81 + 39 = 120.

Susan planted 120 flowers.