Question

The vertical number line shows the height of a pool above and below the desired height at 0.

Thursday is 3 units above 0 and Wednesday is 2 units below 0.

Which equation shows how to find the distance between the water levels on Wednesday and Thursday?

A.
3
+
(
−
2
)
=
3
+
2

B.
3
−
(
−
2
)
=
3
−
2

C.
3
−
(
−
2
)
=
3
+
2

D.
3
+
(
−
2
)
=
3
−
2

Answer 1

To find the distance between the water levels on Wednesday and Thursday, we need to consider the heights of both days: Thursday is at +3, and Wednesday is at -2.

The distance between these two heights can be calculated using the absolute difference between them. Specifically, we can express it mathematically as:

Distance = |Height_Thursday - Height_Wednesday| = |3 - (-2)|

This simplifies as follows:
- First, change the double negative: \(3 - (-2) = 3 + 2 = 5\).

Now, let's review the provided options to find the correct equation:

**A. \(3 + (-2) = 3 + 2\)**
This is incorrect.

**B. \(3 - (-2) = 3 - 2\)**
This is incorrect.

**C. \(3 - (-2) = 3 + 2\)**
This is correct.

**D. \(3 + (-2) = 3 - 2\)**
This is incorrect.

The correct answer is **C. \(3 - (-2) = 3 + 2\)**, as it accurately represents the method to find the distance between the two water levels.