Ahmed is riding the elevator in a building. The building has floors above and below ground level. Ahmed uses the expression below to describe his movement.

Question

6 + (negative 8)

Which statement could describe Ahmed’s movement?
Ahmed started 6 floors above ground level, then he went down 8 floors.
Ahmed started 6 floors above ground level, then he went up 8 floors.
Ahmed started 6 floors below ground level, then he went up 8 floors.
Ahmed started 6 floors below ground level, then he went down 8 floors.

Answer 1

The expression \(6 + (-8)\) can be interpreted as starting at 6 and then moving down 8 floors. Here's how:

1. The number 6 represents a position 6 floors above ground level.
2. The addition of negative 8 (which is the same as subtracting 8) means that he is moving down 8 floors.

Therefore, the correct statement that could describe Ahmed's movement is:

Ahmed started 6 floors above ground level, then he went down 8 floors.