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Jason says the distance between -5.47 and 5.47 on a number line is equal to 5.47. Explain his error and give the correct distance between the two points.

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Final answer:

The correct distance between -5.47 and 5.47 on a number line is 10.94, not 5.47 as Jason says. To find the distance between two points, you must take the absolute difference between them, which results in a positive distance regardless of the direction.

Step-by-step explanation:

Jason says the distance between -5.47 and 5.47 on a number line is equal to 5.47. However, this statement is incorrect. To find the correct distance between two points on a number line, you must calculate the absolute difference between those points. In this case, you take the point 5.47 and subtract -5.47, which will give us the total distance.

The calculation is as follows:

5.47 - (-5.47) = 5.47 + 5.47 = 10.94

So, the correct distance between the two points is 10.94 units on the number line. Distance, being a scalar quantity, is always positive and does not have a direction associated with it.

User Mitch Malone
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