Question

A submarine starts at 0 units and has groups of 3 floats and groups of 4 anchors attached.

Using these groups of floats and anchors, write as many different expressions as you can that would make the submarine's final position -5 units.

Answer 1

Explanation:

To make the submarine's final position -5 units, we can use groups of floats and anchors to represent positive and negative values respectively. Here are some different expressions that can achieve a final position of -5 units:

1. 3 floats - 4 anchors = -5

In this expression, the submarine starts with 0 units, adds 3 floats (+3), and then subtracts 4 anchors (-4), resulting in a final position of -5 units.

2. 4 anchors - 3 floats = -5

In this expression, the submarine starts with 0 units, subtracts 3 floats (-3), and then adds 4 anchors (+4), resulting in a final position of -5 units.

3. 3 floats - 3 floats - 3 floats - 3 floats - 3 floats = -5

In this expression, the submarine starts with 0 units and subtracts 3 floats (-3) five times, resulting in a final position of -15 units. However, since we want to reach -5 units, we can add back 1 float (+1), resulting in a final position of -5 units.

4. 4 anchors - 4 anchors - 4 anchors - 4 anchors + 3 floats = -5

In this expression, the submarine starts with 0 units and subtracts 4 anchors (-4) four times, resulting in a final position of -16 units. To reach -5 units, we can add back 1 float (+1), resulting in a final position of -5 units.

These are just a few examples of different expressions that can achieve a final position of -5 units using groups of floats and anchors. By combining different numbers of floats and anchors and using addition and subtraction, we can create various expressions to reach the desired position.

Answer 2

Explanation:

To make the submarine's final position -5 units, we can use a combination of floats and anchors. Here are several different expressions that achieve this:

1. Use one group of 3 floats and two groups of 4 anchors:

-3 (floats) + 2*(-4) (anchors) = -5

2. Use two groups of 3 floats and one group of 4 anchors:

-2*(-3) (floats) + (-4) (anchors) = -5

3. Use one group of 3 floats, one group of 4 floats, and one group of 4 anchors:

-3 (floats) + (-4) (floats) + (-4) (anchors) = -5

4. Use one group of 3 floats, one group of 4 floats, and two groups of 4 anchors:

-3 (floats) + (-4) (floats) + 2*(-4) (anchors) = -5

5. Use three groups of 3 floats and one group of 4 anchors:

-3*(-3) (floats) + (-4) (anchors) = -5

These are just a few examples, and there are likely more combinations that can achieve the same result. The key is to use a combination of floats and anchors in a way that adds up to -5 units. By manipulating the number of floats and anchors used, we can find different expressions to achieve the desired result.