Final answer:
The correct answers to the subtraction problems are: a) -7, b) -2, c) 9, and d) -2. It is important to remember that subtracting a larger number from a smaller one results in a negative and that subtracting a negative is like adding the positive equivalent.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked to subtract numbers as indicated. The correct answers are:
- a) (6 - 13 = -7)
- b) (13 - 15 = -2)
- c) (15 - 6 = 9)
- d) (13 - 15 is not 2, but -2)
When subtracting integers, if the second number is larger, the result will be negative. For example, 5 minus 3 equals 2 (5 - 3 = 2). When subtracting a negative number, like subtracting -6 from 2 (2 - (-6)), it's equivalent to adding the opposite, resulting in 2 plus 6, which equals 8. The sign of the number being subtracted is changed before the operation. In subtraction involving negative numbers, similar to the subtraction of scalars, we change the sign and then follow addition rules. This makes subtraction operations straightforward and aligns with the concept that subtraction is the addition of the opposite.