Question

If you know that a < b, and both a and b are positive numbers, then what must be true about the relationship between the opposites of these numbers? Explain.

Answer 1

Explanation:

A is closest to 0

Answer 2

The number further left on a number line is the smaller number. For positive numbers, the number closest to zero is smaller. For negative numbers, the number closest to zero is larger. If a is less than b, and they are both positive, then a is closer to 0 than b. The opposite of a is also closer to zero than the opposite of b, so the opposite of a must be larger than the opposite of b.

Explanation: