Final answer:
The reference angle for -265 degrees is found by first making the angle positive (adding 360 degrees to -265), and then finding the acute angle to the x-axis, which is 85 degrees.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the reference angle of a negative angle, you first need to understand that a reference angle is the acute angle (between 0 and 90 degrees) formed by the terminal side of the given angle and the x-axis. To find the reference angle for -265 degrees, you can add 360 degrees to make it positive if it's easier to visualize (because angles are cyclical with a period of 360 degrees).
Thus, -265 + 360 equals 95 degrees. Since 95 degrees is still not an acute angle, we subtract it from 180 degrees (as it's in the second quadrant) to find the acute angle that is the reference angle. This means the reference angle is 180 - 95, which equals 85 degrees.