Question

Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of the lowest elevation in North America, which is 86 meters below sea level. Denali is the highest mountain peak in North America, at 6,190 meters. What is the difference between these two elevations? Write your answer as an integer.

a) 6,104 meters
b) 6,104 feet
c) 6,276 meters
d) 5,104 meters

Answer 1

The difference in elevation between Death Valley's Badwater Basin, at 86 meters below sea level, and Denali, at 6,190 meters above sea level, is 6,276 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking for the difference in elevation between the lowest point in North America, Death Valley's Badwater Basin, and the highest point, Denali. The elevation of Badwater Basin is 86 meters below sea level, and that of Denali is 6,190 meters above sea level. To find the difference between these two elevations, you add the absolute value of the two numbers since they are in opposite directions from sea level. The calculation is as follows:

|-86 m| + |6190 m| = 86 m + 6190 m = 6,276 meters.

So the difference in elevation between Death Valley's Badwater Basin and Denali is 6,276 meters, which corresponds to answer choice (c).