9. A football team gained 6 yards on a first down, lost 15 yards on the second down, and gained 12 yards on the third down. How many yards do they need to gain on the fourth down to have a 10 yard gain from their starting position?

Answer 1

To determine how many yards the football team needs to gain on the fourth down to achieve a 10 yard gain from their starting position, we can follow these steps:

1. Calculate the net yards gained/lost over the first three downs:

   • First down: +6 yards
   • Second down: -15 yards
   • Third down: +12 yards

   The total change in yards after these three downs is: \[ 6 - 15 + 12 = 3 \text{ yards} \]

2. Determine the total gain needed to achieve a 10 yard gain from their starting position: The team needs to reach a total of 10 yards gained from the starting position. Since they are currently at +3 yards after three downs, we calculate: \[ 10 \text{ yards} - 3 \text{ yards} = 7 \text{ yards} \]

3. Conclusion: The football team needs to gain 7 yards on the fourth down to achieve a total net gain of 10 yards from their starting position.