Question

I received this question as part of an online quiz:

Gemma, a scuba diver, begins a dive on the side of a boat 4 feet above sea level. She descends 28 feet. Which integer represents the distance that Gemma is below sea level?

I gave the answer as 24 and got the question wrong. The other possible answers were -24, -32, and 32. I suspect they were looking for -24. I don't believe you can be a negative distance BELOW sea level.

Am I seeing this correctly, or can you be a negative distance BELOW sea level?

Answer 1

Let us assume sea level is Zero, 0.

Don't forget the boat is 4 feet above sea level. Am thinking her measurements are taken from this reference.

So if she descends 28 feet down, that would be: 4 feet from the boat and 24 feet into the water.

+4 0 -24: From +4 to -24 is 28 feet.
The answer is -24. The minus is just a sign to show the reference is below the sea level.

Answer 2

the negative represents that the distance is below sea level