An airplane was at a cruising altitude, then descended 3800 feet. If the airplane is at 20,000 feet now what was the cruising altitude?
You have two numbers. Do you think you should
add?
subtract?
multiply?
divide?
Which method gives you the most reasonable answer?
To find the cruising altitude, we need to subtract the descent distance from the current altitude. In this case, the airplane descended 3800 feet and is currently at 20,000 feet.
To find the cruising altitude, we subtract the descent distance from the current altitude:
Cruising Altitude = Current Altitude - Descent Distance
Cruising Altitude = 20,000 feet - 3800 feet
Cruising Altitude = 16,200 feet
Therefore, the cruising altitude of the airplane was 16,200 feet.