Final answer:
The distance between the bird flying at 28 feet above sea level and the fish swimming at -9 feet below sea level is 37 feet.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question concerns the calculation of the distance between a bird and a fish, where the bird is flying at an elevation of 28 feet above sea level and the fish is swimming at -9 feet below sea level. To find the distance between them, we need to consider the difference in their elevations. Since we are looking for an absolute distance, we will disregard the signs and calculate the numerical difference between the two elevations.
The bird is 28 feet above sea level while the fish is 9 feet below sea level. To find the distance between them, we simply add these two distances: 28 feet (bird) + 9 feet (fish) = 37 feet. Therefore, the distance between the bird and the fish is 37 feet.