Question

Explain how to get -2 - (-3)and 2 + (-5)

Answer 1

1.

for solve -2 - (-3) note that we distribute the sign - which is in the position before the parenthesis, and we obtain the following multiplication:

- times - = +

so we obtain :

-2 + 3

but since the addition (subtraction) in the real numbers is commutative (it can be done in any order) we rearrange the previous equation

-2 + 3 = 3 -2 = 1

So, we can conclude that

-2 -(-3) = 1

2.

for solve 2 + (-5)​ note that we distribute the sign + which is in the position before the parenthesis, and we obtain the following multiplication:

+ times - = -

so we obtain:

2 - 5 = -3

because we always put the sign of the greater number (in this case 5).