Question

Why would negative numbers not make sense for the values of the variables

Answer 1

For this case, what we are going to do is answer the question using an example.

Suppose that the equation of the height of a ball as a function of time is given by:

`image`

We want to find the time when the ball reaches the ground.

To do this, we must match the equation to zero:

`image`

From here, we clear the time.

The polynomial is of the second degree.

Therefore, it has two solutions.

Since we want to find time, then negative solutions do not make sense in this case.

Answer:

Negative values do not make sense for variables in some real-life problems.

Example: find the time when a ball hits the ground.

Answer 2

One reason that negative numbers would not make sense for values of the variables is that the solution having a negative value is not valid. It might be that the expression represents a real word problem and a negative value will not make any sense. Hope this helps.