Question

The 7th grade class is taking another hike together. Ms. Deare'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. (Note: it says WRITE and SOLVE) *

Answer 1

285-296=?

Explanation:

285-296=-11

If the altitude they started at is unknown and you have what altitude they are at and how far they have climbed, then you subtract how far they have climbed from where they started. So they gained 295 feet from where they started and now are at 285 feet, this means they started at -11 feet.