Question

A scuba diver Dives beneath the surface of the water 26 ft. He then spots a school of fish and Rises 14ft to check them out. What is his net feet below the surface? Hint: draw a picture if you need to.

Answer 1

His net feet below the surface is 12 feet.

Answer 2

Note that the surface of the water is an elevation of 0. This means his first dive takes him to -26, 26 ft below the surface of the water. He then moves up 14ft, or adds 14 to his net elevation level. To find where he is now, we can add the 14 to the -26:

-26 + 14 = -12

His net feet below this surface is 12ft.