The rainfall in a town was 2.3 inches above normal in June. In July, the rainfall was 1.2 inches below normal. What was the difference in rainfall between the months? Express your answer as a decimal.

Answer 1

To determine the difference in rainfall between June and July, we first represent the rainfall amounts in terms of their deviation from the normal amount.

1. In June, the rainfall was 2.3 inches above normal, so we can denote this as: \[ \text{June Rainfall} = \text{Normal Rainfall} + 2.3 \]

2. In July, the rainfall was 1.2 inches below normal, which we express as: \[ \text{July Rainfall} = \text{Normal Rainfall} - 1.2 \]

Now we can compute the difference between the June and July rainfall:

\[ \text{Difference} = \text{June Rainfall} - \text{July Rainfall} \]

Substituting the expressions for June and July:

\[ \text{Difference} = (\text{Normal Rainfall} + 2.3) - (\text{Normal Rainfall} - 1.2) \]

Now simplify this expression:

\[ \text{Difference} = \text{Normal Rainfall} + 2.3 - \text{Normal Rainfall} + 1.2 \]

The terms \(\text{Normal Rainfall}\) cancel out:

\[ \text{Difference} = 2.3 + 1.2 \]

Now we will calculate the sum:

\[ \text{Difference} = 3.5 \]

Thus, the difference in rainfall between June and July is:

\[ \boxed{3.5} \text{ inches} \]