Question

So I am looking at the method of elimination but I get a little bit lost why there is a positive +1 underneath the -1 , where does the +1 come from?

Answer 1

Hello! So whenever you are dealing with this kind of equation you do something called a inverse operation.

When doing this you need to do the inverse operation on BOTH sides of the equation, in this case the equation is
-1 + y = -3
( the inverse operation of subtraction is addition)
So you add 1 to both sides to find out what y equals, -1 + 1 cancels out, -3 + -1 is equal to -2
Therefore the y = -2

I hope this helps, sorry if it didn’t! I’m open for questions :)

Answer 2

it is because its being carried to the other side

Explanation:

When you add 1 to negative 1 it becomes 0, so we are trying to make the right hand side equal to the left hand side. If that makes any sense.