An elevator traveled in this way: up 18 floors, down 6 floors, down 14 floors, up 19 floors and down 25 floors. What was the net change in the position of the elevator?

1 Answer
Carl S.
Apr 12, 2018

8 floors

Explanation:

Suppose you start on floor #n#

You go up 18 floors so you are on floor #n+18#
You go down 6 floors #=> n+18-6#
You go down 14 floors #=> n+18-6-14#
You go up 19 floors #=> n+18-6-14+19#
You go down 25 floors #=> n+18-6-14+19-25#

The net change is #n+18-6-14+19-25 - n=#
#18-6-14+19-25=-8#

This means you've gone down 8 floors.

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