Multi-step problems with positive and negative numbers, and checking they make sense
Grade 7 Math Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.
Tala watches a whale at -2.5 m (below the surface is negative). It dives 3/4 m per second for 6 seconds, then rises 1.5 m per second for 4 seconds. Where is it now?
Ari hikes from -4.5 m (lake level is 0). The trail climbs 2.5 m per minute for 6 minutes, then descends 1.25 m per minute for 8 minutes. What is the height then?
Bo's bucket of water is 14 cm deep. A leak makes the water fall 3/4 cm each hour. Now it is 5 cm deep. For how many hours has it been leaking?
At dawn, Esme's thermometer reads -7.5°F. The temperature rises 1.5 degrees each hour. Now it reads -1.5°F. How many hours have passed?
Kira's kite starts at 20 m and falls 2.5 m each minute. Now it is 7.5 m high. For how many minutes has it been falling?
Luz estimates (-7.2) × 4.1 as about -28, but the phone shows 29.52. What is most likely wrong with the phone's answer?
- The answer on the screen makes sense.
- The sign is wrong.
- The decimal point is in the wrong place.
Milo estimates 6.8 × 2.1 as about 14, but the screen shows 142.8. What is most likely wrong with the screen's answer?
- The sign is wrong.
- The answer on the screen makes sense.
- The decimal point is in the wrong place.
Noah estimates (-9.8) ÷ (-2.8) as about 3, but the TV game shows -3.5. What is most likely wrong with the game's answer?
- The sign is wrong.
- The answer on the screen makes sense.
- The decimal point is in the wrong place.
Pia estimates 5.4 × 7.9 as about 40, but the app shows 4.266. What is most likely wrong with the app's answer?
- The sign is wrong.
- The decimal point is in the wrong place.
- The answer on the screen makes sense.
Tala starts a hike at 12.5 m above the lake. By the end, the total change in height is -17.5 m. What does the -17.5 tell you?
- The hiker ends 17.5 meters lower than the start.
- The hiker is at a height of -17.5 meters.
- The hiker did not move.
- The hiker ends 17.5 meters higher than the start.