My 13 yr old is currently working on his homework and we are sorta stuck on this problem... (writing it the way it is written)
- 2 - 8.7 =
can someone help explain? Is it negative 2 MINUS 8.7 or negative 2 "plus" negative 8.7? ARG! lol, no one tells you that when you have kids you go back to school all over again... I "so" would have paid more attention! :)
Thank you!
2007-09-06 12:16:53 · 21 answers · asked by Just me 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Yes. It's -2 + -8.7. Which equals to -10.7.
2007-09-06 12:20:32 · answer #1 · answered by Sid90 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
negative 2 minus 8.7=(-10.7) negative 10.7
The only time it would be -2+8.7 would be if the problem said -2-(-8.7) then the minus sign and the negative sign on the 8.7 would both change to positive therefore a + resulting in the above -2+8.7
2007-09-06 19:23:44 · answer #2 · answered by ws 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's both negative 2 minus 8.7 and negative 2 plus negative 8.7. They are the same thing, the second one is just "adding the opposite." so -2 +(-8.7) is -10.7.
2007-09-06 19:21:48 · answer #3 · answered by Taciturnity 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are write on both
it can be written as
(-2) - (8.7) = -10.7
(-2) + (-8.7) = -10.7
Adding a negative is like taking away a positive or..
adding 'coolness' is like taking away the heat
think of thermometer or
a giant pot where an ice cube = -1 and a hot bag = +1
2007-09-06 19:25:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way you would read this and solve this is negative two plus negative 8.7 which would be -10.7. just think about the formula as being written as follows (-2) + (-8.7). That may help.
2007-09-06 19:20:45 · answer #5 · answered by Schmoopy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when subtracting 2 negatives your actually adding them together
-2 - 8.7 = -10.7 because a negative can not cancel a negative only when you are adding a positive. like this
2 -8.7 = -6.7 when adding or subtracting negatives or positives just look to see which is the bigger number in the first place it was a negative so you will know that the answer is going to be negative.
2007-09-06 19:27:35 · answer #6 · answered by THE GOOD NIGHT 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well both are the exact same thing!
any subtraction problem can be changed into an addition problem by changing the minus to + and the next sign after that into the opposite. example: 1-4=1+-4.
-2-8.7=-10.7
2007-09-06 19:27:13 · answer #7 · answered by ECJacket 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Both ways of saying it is right.
- 2 - 8.7 is the same as - 2 + (-8.7)
Either way the answer is -10.7.
Just pretend the negative signs represent something else.. like apples. So instead of saying negative, say apple.
2 APPLES plus 8.7 APPLES
= 10.7 APPLES
= -10.7 (trade the word apples for "negative")
2007-09-06 19:23:25 · answer #8 · answered by AnnieD 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where did you get a plus from.
It is negative 2 minus 8.7. which equals negtive 10/7
2007-09-06 19:20:05 · answer #9 · answered by hallock36 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
so u got -2-8.7 =?... if u got -2 - (-8.7), then u subtract -2 to positve 8.7 because u got double negative " -(- " and that turns to positive and you will get an answer of 6.7 since +8.7 is greater than -2, but with your equation, you are subtracting one negative # from another # and now, you are subtracting -2 to -8.7 and the solution of -10.7. hopefully i wasn't confusing!!! :D
2007-09-06 19:26:09 · answer #10 · answered by an oriental guy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
u just keep going down the scale
it's really easy to understand if u visualize it
The Number scale
-11, -10, -9, -8, -7, -6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3
minus = move left, add = move right
so starting at -2, u move left 8.7 spaces and u land on -10.7
2007-09-06 19:23:00 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋