Question

If Jared has 4 less than 3 times the number of trophies Zachary has how many does Jared have?

Answer 1

`J = 3Z-4`

Explanation:

We can't answer the question numerically. All we can say is that, if we call `J` the number of trophies Jares has and `Z` the number of trophies Zachary has, we have

`J = 3Z-4`

In fact, Jared has four less (hence the `-4`) than three times the number of Zac's trophies (hence the `3Z`).

If we knew `Z`, we would also knew `J`, but without any of the two numbers, we can only write the relation between the two quantities.