Question

A traffic helicopter descends 102 meters to be 331 meters above the ground, as illustrated in the diagram to the right. Write an

equation to describe the situation using h as the original height of the helicopter. What was the original height of the helicopter?

Answer 1

• h -102 = 331
• h = 433

Explanation:

Using the problem statement as the basis for the equation, we can write ...

h -102 = 331

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Using the diagram as the basis for the equation, we could write it as ...

h = 331 +102

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The original height of the helicopter was 433 m.