Complete question :
The Hiking Club is taking another trip. The hike leader's watch shows that they gained 296 feet in altitude from their starting position. Their altitude is now 285 feet, but there is no record of their starting altitude. Write and solve an equation to represent this situation and find their starting altitude.
Answer:
Expression :
285 = x + 296
Starting altitude, x = - 11 feets
Explanation:
Let starting position = x
Altitude gained = 296 feets
Final attitude = 285 feets
The starting altitude could be obtained by the expression :
Final altitude = starting altitude + Altitude gained
285 = x + 296
Solve for x, to obtain starting altitude ;
285 - 296 = x + 296 - 296
-11 = x
Hence, starting altitude is - 11 feets