Elevation Change
Free interactive math game: Elevation Change — Real-world problem. Part of the Negative Numbers category on MathKite.
Example problems
Taken from the generator that powers this exercise. A fresh set appears every time the page is opened, and the printable worksheet holds ten of them.
- A hot-air balloon is at 700 m altitude. It rises 500 m, then rises 500 m, then climbs 400 m, then climbs 100 m. What is its altitude now?
- The temperature is 8°C. It rises by 8 °C, then drops by 1 °C. What is the temperature now?
- A submarine is at 250 m below sea level (elevation −250 m). It dives 100 m, then ascends 60 m, then rises 40 m. What is its elevation now?
- The temperature is 7°C. It falls by 4 °C, then falls by 3 °C, then goes up by 8 °C. What is the temperature now?
About this exercise
Height and depth measured above and below a reference level.
How to solve it
Treat above as positive and below as negative, then add or subtract the change.
Worked example
Starting 3 floors below ground and rising 5 floors reaches floor 2.
Common mistake
Adding the two depths together. From -3 to 2 is a rise of 5, not of 1.