Jody Libal, age 11, of Two Harbors, Minn., for her question:

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NET AND GROSS?

Net and gross are terms used in business, finance and economics. Gross is the total sum or amount without any deduction for expense or waste. Net refers to the sum or amount that remains after all costs and expenses have been paid.

A famous gross is the nation's GNP, or Gross National Product. This is the value of all goods and services produced during a given period and it is one of the most widely used methods for measuring a nation's total economic performance in a single year. A nation's net foreign exports represents the value of goods and services sold abroad, less the value of foreign goods and services 'used in the country during the same period.

The United States has the highest GNP of any nation in the world.