Question

An octopus has 8 arms. A starfish has 5 arms. How many fewer arms does the starfish have than the octopus?

Answer 1

A starfish has 3 fewer arms than an octopus, because while an octopus has 8 arms, a starfish has only 5; subtracting the two numbers (8 - 5) gives us the answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student asked how many fewer arms a starfish has compared to an octopus. To find out, we compare the number of arms each creature has. An octopus has 8 arms, whereas a starfish has 5 arms. The difference between the two numbers will give us the number of fewer arms the starfish has.

1. Count the number of arms on an octopus: 8 arms.
2. Count the number of arms on a starfish: 5 arms.
3. Subtract the smaller number (starfish arms) from the larger number (octopus arms): 8 - 5 = 3 arms.

Therefore, a starfish has 3 fewer arms than an octopus.