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On the number line below, P represents a number. What is the value of the opposite of that number?

A) -3
B) -2
C) 1
D) 0

User M Reza
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The opposite of a number 'P' is the same distance from zero on the number line but in the opposite direction. If 'P' is positive, its opposite is negative and vice versa. No specific value was given for 'P', so we apply the general concept for finding opposites.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question requires us to find the value of the opposite of a number represented by 'P' on the number line. There was no specific position given for 'P' so we will rely on the general concept that the opposite of a number is the same distance from zero on the number line but in the opposite direction. So, if 'P' was a positive number, its opposite would be negative, and if 'P' was negative, its opposite would be positive.

To illustrate this with an example, if 'P' was the number 2, its opposite would be -2. Conversely, if 'P' was the number -3, its opposite would be 3. It's important to notice that the opposite of any number 'a' is denoted as -a. This is consistent with the rule that when the two numbers multiplied have opposite signs, the answer has a negative sign, e.g., (-3) x 2 = -6 and 4 x (-4) = -16, as seen when dealing with basic operations of numbers.

User Extols
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