Question

The top of an offshore oil rig has an elevation of 199.2 meters and its base has an elevation of -9.6 meters. An observation deck is located at an elevation equal to of the total height of the oil rig. A helipad is located 22.8 meters above the observation deck. What is the elevation of the helipad?

Answer 1

Answer: 57.6

Explanation:

To determine the elevation of the helipad, model each part of the situation with an expression.

The top of an offshore oil rig has an elevation of 199.2 meters and its base has an elevation of -9.6 meters. So, the total height of the oil rig can be calculated as shown below.

Now, calculate the elevation of the observation deck, which is equal to of the total height of the oil rig.

Since, the helipad is located 22.8 meters above the observation deck, add this to the elevation of the observation deck to find the elevation of the helipad.

Therefore, the elevation of the helipad is 57.6 meters.

Answer 2

Answer: 231.6 meters.

Explanation:

The first step in solving this problem is to calculate the height of the oil rig. The lowest elevation is -9.6 and the top elevation is 199.2.

199.2 + 9.6 = 208.8 equals the total height of the oil rig.

If the observation deck is located at an elevation equal to the total heigh of the oil rig then the deck is at 208.8 meters.

The helipad is located 22.8 meters above the observation deck, so it is 208.8 + 22.8 = 231.6 meters.