Question

Explain how you can tell without calculating whether the sum of a positive number and a negative number will be positive, negative, or zero.

Answer 1

You can answer that based on the absolute value of both numbers. So, if absolute value of the positive number is greater than that of the negative one, you will have a positive result. In the opposite situation, it would turn into a negative result. Finally, if both absolute values are equal, the sum is zero.

Answer 2

once you put it in the calculator it tells you