![math negative numbers help math negative numbers help](https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/sR9gobMOLqhF9v5OIdRhOV2Cuzk=/275x250/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/absolute-deviation-58594c183df78ce2c323da49.jpg)
![math negative numbers help math negative numbers help](https://ecdn.teacherspayteachers.com/thumbitem/Math-Riddle-Adding-Negative-Numbers-Fun-Math-3367214-1607776471/original-3367214-3.jpg)
Is there a rule that can be consistently applied to an equation, to figure out whether we're subtracting 4x from x^2 or adding -4x and x^2 together? It seems like this has something to do with -4x being considered together as a negative number, rather than as a subtraction of 4x from x^2.Ĭan anyone please explain to me how this is the case?Īnd if so, how can we differentiate between a genuine subtraction operation vs. These numbers are to the left of zero on the number line. Whole numbers less than zero are called negative integers (-). These numbers are to the right of zero on the number line. Whole numbers greater than zero are called positive integers (+). So the result should be -7, shouldn't it?īut no! Apparently there's some hidden rule I didn't know about, because the correct answer is actually -1. The number line goes on forever in both directions. Q&A for people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields Stack Exchange Network Stack Exchange network consists of 178 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Well, PEMDAS says that multiplication goes after parens and exponents, right? And subtraction goes last, right? I tried to apply PEMDAS to solve this problem. A debt that is owed may be thought of as a negative asset, a decrease in some quantity may be thought of as a negative increase.
![math negative numbers help math negative numbers help](https://www.math-salamanders.com/image-files/negative-number-worksheets-ordering-negative-numbers--10-10-1tb.gif)
In the real number system, a negative number is a number that is less than zero.Negative numbers are often used to represent the magnitude of a loss or deficiency. We hope they will help you to understand whats going. In mathematics, a negative number represents an opposite. This seemingly simple math problem really has me stumped: Below are some different ways of thinking about adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers.