Question

Which expression is equal to the distance between –5 and 8 on the number line?

A. |–5| + 8
B. |–5| – 8
C. –5 + |8|
D. –5 – |–8|

Answer 1

The distance between two points on the number line is equal to the absolute value of their difference.

In this case, we want to find the distance between -5 and 8 on the number line. The difference between these two numbers is:

8 - (-5) = 8 + 5 = 13

Therefore, the distance between -5 and 8 on the number line is 13.

To verify this, we can also find the absolute value of the difference:

|8 - (-5)| = |8 + 5| = |13| = 13

So the correct expression that is equal to the distance between -5 and 8 on the number line is:

A. |–5| + 8

Substituting -5 into the absolute value, we get:

|–5| + 8 = 5 + 8 = 13

Therefore, option A is the correct expression.