Read this word problem.A trout was swimming 9 feet below the surface of a lake. It dove down 8 more feet to search for food. What is the position of the trout now relative to the surface?To solve the problem, Denise subtracted −9−8 and came up with an answer of −17 feet. Is Denise correct? Why or why not?Choices:(A)Yes, Denise is correct.(B)No. The answer should have been 17 feet, not −17 feet, because a negative plus a negative is always a positive.(C)No. Denise should have subtracted 8−9 because she needed to find the difference in the trout's starting and ending position.
Q. Read this word problem.A trout was swimming 9 feet below the surface of a lake. It dove down 8 more feet to search for food. What is the position of the trout now relative to the surface?To solve the problem, Denise subtracted −9−8 and came up with an answer of −17 feet. Is Denise correct? Why or why not?Choices:(A)Yes, Denise is correct.(B)No. The answer should have been 17 feet, not −17 feet, because a negative plus a negative is always a positive.(C)No. Denise should have subtracted 8−9 because she needed to find the difference in the trout's starting and ending position.
Initial Depth Calculation: The trout was initially 9 feet below the surface. Diving down 8 more feet means adding another 8 feet to the initial 9 feet below.−9+(−8)=−17 feet.
Incorrect Calculation Explanation: Denise's calculation of −9−8 is incorrect because when going deeper, we add the depth, not subtract.
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