Solving Problems by Subtracting Decimals

The table shows your swim times for the last three triathlons you have entered. How much faster were you in Race 3 than in Race 1?
Triathlon Swim Times
Swimming Time (minutes)
Race 1 14.05
Race 2 13.20
Race 3 12.95
We're asked to find "how much faster," and that is _______ problem, which means subtraction

14.05-12.95=_____

We were 1.10 minutes______ in the 3rd race than in the first.

Check the answer by using estimation: _____- 13 = 1 minutes, which is close to the actual answer of 1.10 minutes.

User Icon for Bot GPT 4-o mini Bot GPT 4-o mini answered
1 hour ago

To find out how much faster you were in Race 3 than in Race 1, we need to subtract the swim time of Race 3 from the swim time of Race 1.

1. **Identify the times:**
- Race 1: 14.05 minutes
- Race 3: 12.95 minutes

2. **Set up the subtraction:**
\[
14.05 - 12.95
\]

3. **Perform the subtraction:**
\[
14.05 - 12.95 = 1.10
\]

So, you were **1.10 minutes faster** in Race 3 than in Race 1.

4. **Check the answer using estimation:**
- For estimation, round Race 1's time to 13 minutes.
- Then do the estimation:
\[
13 - 12.95 \approx 1 \text{ (this is very close)}
\]

Thus, the complete statement would be:

"We're asked to find 'how much faster,' and that is a **subtraction** problem, which means subtraction.

14.05 - 12.95 = **1.10**.

We were **1.10 minutes faster** in the 3rd race than in the first.

Check the answer by using estimation: **13 - 12.95 = 1** minutes, which is close to the actual answer of **1.10 minutes**."