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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from BJ, a parent: My son got this math problem which he could mostly solve. Here it is: The highest location in a certain country is 4525 m above sea level. The lowest point in the same country is 192 m below sea level. a) Find the difference of the two elevations. His answer: a-(-b)= a+b or 4525-(-192)= 4525+192=4717 m. No problem. b) A city is 2221 m above sea level. Is this elevation closer to the highest point or the lowest point? But then he was given 4 choices for this question with no other information: a) 4717 m; lowest b) 4333 m; lowest c) 4333 m; highest d) 4717 m; highest What does it mean? What's the connection with the rest of the problem? |
Hi,
This problem is being presented as a multiple choice problem. Your son is being given 4 choices for an answer. They are.
- The answer to a) is 4717m and the answer to b) is lowest.
- The answer to a) is 4333m and the answer to b) is lowest.
- The answer to a) is 4333m and the answer to b) is highest.
- The answer to a) is 4717m and the answer to b) is highest.
The correct answer is the fourth choice as your son determined. What I found confusing was that the two parts of the question were labeled a) and b) and the first two choices were also labeled a) and b).
I hope this helps,
Harley
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