An athlete took forward and backward steps of equal distance to warm up before his race. after taking 10 steps total, he was back at his starting position. how many steps did the athlete take in the forward and backward directions?
3 steps forward and 7 steps backward
4 steps forward and 6 steps backward
5 steps forward and 5 steps backward
6 steps forward and 4 steps backward

step-by-step explanation: given equation a = h(b 1+b 2)

also we are given values of a, h and b 1 as :

a = 16, h = 4, and b 1 = 3.

in order to solve it for b 2, we need to plug the given values of   a, h and b 1 .

therefore, plugging values of   a, h and b 1   in given equation, we get

16 = 4( 3 + b 2)

first dividing both sides by 4, we get

4 = 3 + b 2

subtracting 3 from both sides, we get

4 -3 = 3 -3 + b 2

1 = b 2.

you just switch the numbers basically so it would be 3/17