Sarah measures how much water
her horse and donkey each drink.
How much more water does the
horse drink than the donkey?
What expression can you write to model
the problem?

To determine how much more water the horse drinks than the donkey, you can use a simple subtraction expression. If we let represent the amount of water the horse drinks and represent the amount of water the donkey drinks, the expression would be . This equation shows the difference in their water consumption, which is precisely what Sarah is trying to find out!

In similar scenarios, it’s essential to clearly define your variables. For instance, if you forget to specify what and represent, your equation might confuse others. So, always remember to include what your variables stand for—clarity can save a lot of head-scratching!