Final answer:
Option B. The expression 5 + (-2) equals 3, and this is 3 units away from 5 in the negative direction because adding a negative number means moving to the left on the number line.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve the expression 5 + (-2), you need to add the numbers while considering their signs. When two numbers with opposite signs are added together, you subtract the smaller number from the larger number, and the answer has the sign of the larger number. In this case, you are combining a positive 5 and a negative 2. To combine them, you subtract 2 from 5, which equals 3, and since the larger number (5) is positive, the result is also positive.
Therefore, 5 + (-2) equals 3, and this is 3 units away from 5 in the negative direction. This is because you move left on the number line from 5 towards zero when you add a negative number. The correct answer to the question is 3; negative.