At the amusement park, each student is given $16 for food. this covers the cost of 2 meals plus $4 for snacks. how much money does the school expect each student to spend per meal?

answers:
4 - 2m = 16
4m - 2 = 16
2m + 4 = 16
4m - 16 = 2

So 'm' represents the cost of a meal, since the student is expected to buy 2 of them, the coefficient on the 'm' is 2. They are also budgeted $4 for snacks, so the total amount of money they can spend is 2 meals + $4 for snacks, which cannot be greater than 16. 
2m+4=16.
m=6 dollars