The rainfall in a town was 2.3 inches above normal in June. In July, the rainfall was 1.2

Question

inches below normal. What was the difference in rainfall between the months? Express your
answer as a decimal.
The difference in rainfall was ___ inches.

Answer 1

To find the difference in rainfall between June and July, we first calculate the total deviation from normal for each month.

For June, the rainfall was 2.3 inches above normal, so we can represent this as:

• June: +2.3 inches

For July, the rainfall was 1.2 inches below normal, so we represent this as:

• July: -1.2 inches

Now, to find the difference in rainfall between the two months, we will find the difference between June and July:

\[ \text{Difference} = \text{Rainfall in June} - \text{Rainfall in July} \] \[ = (2.3) - (-1.2) \] \[ = 2.3 + 1.2 \] \[ = 3.5 \]

Thus, the difference in rainfall between June and July is 3.5 inches.