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
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.