Question

A polar bear was sitting on the top of an ice float that was 2.5 meters above the surface of the water. The polar bear dove 6.5 meters from the top of the float into the water to catch a seal. Relative to the surface of the water, which equation best represents how far below the surface the polar bear dove?

Answer 1

Explanation:

Let the surface of the water be at 0m

If a polar bear was sitting on the top of an ice float that was 2.5 meters above the surface of the water, the distance between the ice float and the surface of the water will be:

= 2.5 - 0

= 2.5m

If the polar bear dove 6.5 meters from the top of the float into the water to catch a seal, to get the distance between the bear under the water to the sea level, we will use the expression:

2.5 + x = 6.5

Subtract 2.5 from both sides

2.5+x -2.5 = 6.5-2.5

x = 4.0m

Hence the equation that best represents how far below the surface the polar bear dove is 2.5 + x = 6.5 where x is the distance between the polar bear below and the surface of the water