Question

A football team lost 30 yards on 5 consecutive plays. They lost the same number of yards on each play. Represent the numbers of yards lost on each play as a negative rational number.

Answer 1

Let x be the yards lost on each play. Then 5x = -30, so x = -30/5 = -6.

Thus each play lost -6 yards (which is the rational number -6, equivalently -6/1).