Question

A scuba diver began at sea level and descended

until reaching a small reef. Her location can be
represented by –45 feet. How many feet did
the scuba diver travel?

Answer 1

The scuba diver traveled 45 feet from sea level to reach the location of the small reef represented by –45 feet.

Step-by-step explanation:

You've asked how many feet the scuba diver traveled if her location can be represented by –45 feet.

If the scuba diver started at sea level (which is 0 feet) and descended to –45 feet, she traveled the difference between her starting point and her ending point in feet.

To find this, we simply take the absolute value of her final depth because depth is a measure of distance from the starting point (sea level) and distance is always a positive value.

So, the diver traveled |-–45 feet| which is 45 feet in total.