When you travel down a staircase, you typically move from a higher position to a lower position. In terms of mathematics, this can be represented as a subtraction operation. For example, if you start at the 3rd step and move down to the 1st step, you would say:
Starting step: 3
Ending step: 1
Operation: 3 - 2 = 1 (you subtract 2 steps)
Conversely, when you travel up the staircase, you move from a lower position to a higher position, which is represented by an addition operation. Using the same example, if you start at the 1st step and move up to the 3rd step:
Starting step: 1
Ending step: 3
Operation: 1 + 2 = 3 (you add 2 steps)
In summary, going down the staircase involves subtraction (moving to a lower step), and going up involves addition (moving to a higher step).