Viola has 185 cans of soda. Dixie has 17 cans of soda less than viola. How many cans of soda does Dixie have?

Can someone please convert this into a algebraic expression?

9.4.34  question   to estimate the height of a stone  figure, an observer holds a small square up to her eyes and walks backward from the figure. she stops when the bottom of the figure aligns with the bottom edge of the  square, and when the top of the figure aligns with the top edge of the square. her eye level is 1.811.81 m from the ground. she is 3.703.70 m from the figure. what is the height of the figure to the nearest hundredth of a  meter?