Given that the weight of goat increased by 12 pounds to be 38 pounds.
It means that the weight became 38 pounds after attaining an extra 12 pounds to its initial weight.
Suppose that 'x' is the initial weight of the goat, then adding 12 to is will become 8,
[tex]x+12=38[/tex]
Therefore, the third option is the correct choice.
