Since the diver is being pulled up at a rate of 18 feet per minute, measuring his movement for the past 14 minutes, we will use −18 for the movement over those 14 minutes. So, his depth 14 minutes ago is given by the expression:
[tex]-185-18(14)[/tex]
= [tex]-185-252[/tex]
= [tex]-437[/tex]
Hence, 14 minutes ago, the diver was 437 feet below the sea level.