Question

The Silver Spur is a popular local hiking trail. The start of the trail is 179ft above sea level. The table shows the amount of elevation gain between the previous point of interest on the trail and the current one. (The elevation gain shown for the Old Cabin is the elevation gained between the start of the trail and the Old Cabin.) Point of Interest Elevation gain (in ft) Old Cabin −32.78 Ruby Falls 8634 Thunder Gorge −14725 High Point Vista 346.47 What is a hiker’s elevation above sea level (in feet) upon reaching High Point Vista?

Answer 1

Explanation:

To find the hiker's elevation above sea level upon reaching High Point Vista, we need to add up the elevation gain from the start of the trail to High Point Vista. We can use the table to do this:

Elevation gain from start to Old Cabin: -32.78 ft (negative because the hiker loses elevation)

Elevation gain from Old Cabin to Ruby Falls: 8634 ft

Elevation gain from Ruby Falls to Thunder Gorge: -14725 ft (negative because the hiker loses elevation)

Elevation gain from Thunder Gorge to High Point Vista: 346.47 ft

To find the hiker's elevation above sea level at High Point Vista, we add up these elevation gains:

179 ft (start) - 32.78 ft + 8634 ft - 14725 ft + 346.47 ft = -5668.31 ft

The negative value means that the hiker is below sea level at High Point Vista, which is not possible. Therefore, there must be an error in the elevation gain listed for one of the points of interest. It's possible that the elevation gain for Ruby Falls is incorrect, as it seems unlikely that the hiker would gain more than 8000 ft in elevation between Old Cabin and Ruby Falls. Without more information, it's difficult to say for sure where the error lies.