A man is hiking in Death Valley. He starts at an elevation of 65 feet above sea level and descends to an elevation 30 feet below sea level. How far did the hiker travel?

Represent the starting elevation as +65 feet and the ending elevation as −30 feet. The distance traveled vertically is the difference between these elevations: 65 − (−30) = 95 feet. So the hiker traveled 95 feet; distance is positive, not negative.

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