SOLUTION: I'm not sure what type of word problem it is but, I'm in Algebra. Here is the question. "It is estimated that the earth is losing 4000 species of plants and animals every year,

Question 99117: I'm not sure what type of word problem it is but, I'm in Algebra. Here is the question. "It is estimated that the earth is losing 4000 species of plants and animals every year, If "S" represents the number of species living last year, how many species are on earth this year?
Found 2 solutions by checkley71, jim_thompson5910:
Answer by checkley71(8403) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
S-4000=NUMBER OF SPECIES LIVING THIS YEAR.

Answer by jim_thompson5910(21685) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let's say we had 10,000 species last year. If we lose 4,000 every year then this year we would have

10,000-4,000=6,000

So we would have 6,000 species. So to find out how many species we have leftover, simply subtract the change in species (which is 4000) from the starting amount

Since we start with S, we can use the same technique to find out how many species we have left. Simply subtract 4,000 from S to get

So we'll have species this year