Which context describes a difference of rational numbers?

1. A football player gains yards on a play.
2. The team’s score did not change during the game.
3. The team’s score increased when scoring.
4. A football player loses yards on a play.

1 answer

The context that best describes a difference of rational numbers is:

  1. A football player loses yards on a play.

This scenario involves comparing the original yardage (before the loss) to the new yardage (after the loss), which represents a subtraction (or difference) of two rational numbers (the original yardage and the lost yardage).