Question

The temperature of Sahara desert on a certain day was 58°C above freezing point of water and the temperature at night was 6°C below the freezing point of water. Calculate the difference, in °C, of the temperature between the day and the night on that day. [Freezing point of water = 0°C]​

Answer 1

Explanation:

as the description says : the freezing point of water is at 0°C.

so, the temperature difference is as on a regular number line of negative and positive numbers.

we have therefore the difference of +58 to 0, which is 58, and we have the difference from 0 to -6, which is 6.

so, the total difference is 58 + 6 = 64°C.

FYI - formally we calculate a difference by subtracting the lower value from the higher value.

like between +48 and +12 : 48 - 12 = 36

now, what happens, when one or both numbers are negative ? the same rule applies. but we need to remember how negative numbers work.

e.g. -58 is SMALLER than -6. and minus of a negative value is positive. the difference between -58 and -6 is therefore : -6 - -58 = -6 + 58 = 52

and now for our original question, the difference between +58 and -6 is : 58 - -6 = 58 + 6 = 64

as we calculated before.