Question

Terry stated that -7 - (-14) is the same as -7 - 14. Frieda disagrees with him and said that a similar equation is -7 + 14. Who is right, and why?

a. Terry, because double negatives cancel each other.
b. Frieda, because adding 14 is the correct operation.
c. Both are correct, as subtraction and addition yield the same result.
d. Neither is correct; the equations are different.

Answer 1

Frieda is correct in saying that -7 - (-14) is the same as -7 + 14. Terry is incorrect in stating that -7 - (-14) is the same as -7 - 14.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine who is right, we need to understand the rules of addition and subtraction with negative numbers.

When subtracting a negative number, we can rewrite it as addition. So, -7 - (-14) becomes -7 + 14. This is because subtracting a negative is the same as adding a positive. Therefore, Frieda is correct in saying that -7 - (-14) is the same as -7 + 14.

Terry is incorrect in stating that -7 - (-14) is the same as -7 - 14. In this case, we are subtracting a negative, which is equivalent to adding a positive. Therefore, -7 - (-14) is not the same as -7 - 14.