Question

franklin begins scuba diving at sea level. he descends 5 feet every minute. how many minutes will it take him to descend to an elevation of -35 feet?
-5m = -35
-35 ÷ -5 = m
-35 · -\frac{1}{5} = m
m = 7
franklins final elevation was 7 feet.
it takes franklin 7 minutes to descend to the goal elevation of -35 feet.
franklin descended a total of 7 feet.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the equation

The equation given is \(-5m = -35\), where \(m\) represents the number of minutes. To solve for \(m\), we can divide both sides of the equation by \(-5\).
\[
m=\frac{-35}{-5}
\]

Step2: Calculate the value of \(m\)

When we divide \(-35\) by \(-5\), we know that a negative divided by a negative is a positive. So, \(\frac{-35}{-5} = 7\). This means \(m = 7\), which represents the number of minutes.

Step3: Analyze each statement

• "Franklin's final elevation was 7 feet." This is incorrect because the final elevation is \(-35\) feet.
• "It takes Franklin 7 minutes to descend to the goal elevation of -35 feet." This is correct because we found \(m = 7\) minutes.
• "Franklin descended a total of 7 feet." This is incorrect because he descended to \(-35\) feet, so the total distance descended is 35 feet.

Answer:

It takes Franklin 7 minutes to descend to the goal elevation of -35 feet.