My question is: A boy squirrel gathers 6 walnuts and carries them to his burrow in the tree, adding to the 12 already there, and dropping 1 on the way. The girl squirrel brings 5 more walnuts to their burrow and eats 2. How many walnuts are left? Your thoughts:
With the boy's contribution, there are 12 + 6 = 18 walnuts. When he drops 1, now they have 18 - 1 = 17 walnuts. The girl adds to their stash, making the count 17 + 5 = 22 walnuts. When the girl eats 2, the final count is 22 - 2 = 20 walnuts. The final answer: 20.