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PLS HELP ME

Chen evaluated -3-(-5)+(7). His work is:

-3-(-5)+(7)

-3-(+2)

-3+(-2)

-5

What mistake did Chen make? Show how to find the correct value of the expression.

User Nataliya
by
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1 Answer

6 votes

Final answer:

Chen's mistake lies in changing -(-5) to +2 instead of +5. The correct steps are to convert the subtraction of a negative to addition, resulting in -3 + 5 + 7, and then add the numbers to get the correct answer, which is 9.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mistake made by Chen occurred when evaluating the expression -3-(-5)+(7). When subtracting a negative number, the two negatives become a positive, which Chen correctly identified in the first step.

However, the mistake came when Chen incorrectly changed -(-5) to (+2) instead of (+5).

Here's a step-by-step explanation to find the correct value:

  1. Start with the original expression: -3-(-5)+(7).
  2. Subtracting a negative is the same as adding: -3 + 5 + 7.
  3. Add the numbers together: Since -3 and 5 have opposite signs, find the difference, which is 2. Then add 7, resulting in 9.

The correct solution to the expression is therefore 9.

User Celestial
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8.7k points