Question

The sum of two numbers is -10.5.

Identify two negative addends that make the statement true.


Can one of the addends be positive and the other be negative? Provide an example to prove your answer.

Answer 1

-5 and -5.5;

-12.5 and 2

Explanation:

Two negative addends, can be added together to give -10.5.

For example:

(-5) + (-5.5) = -5 - 5.5 = -10.5

Also, it is possible for one of the addends to be negative while the other is positive, and their sum will give us -10.5.

For example:

The sum of -12.5 and 2 will give us -10.5.

We are adding a positive and a negative number here. As usual, we will subtract the smaller number from the bigger number, while the result will carry the sign of the bigger number, which in this case is negative sign.

Thus:

(-12.5) + (2) = -10.5