When tom found the difference - 11 - (-4) he got - 15. What might tom have done wrong

Question

Mathematics

Terrance Mullins

5 April, 04:49

When tom found the difference - 11 - (-4) he got - 15. What might tom have done wrong

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Answers (2)

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Jovany Carson · Answer 1

When subtracting a negative number, the two signs (-) cancel out. This means the equation could be rewritten as - 11+4 which would equal - 7. Tom may have forgot to remove the negative and written - 11+-4.

Yandel Osborne · Answer 2

He did - 11 - 4 which is - 15. He subtracted 4 from - 11 when he should subtract - 4 from - 11. Subtracting - 4 is the same as adding 4.

The problem is - 11 - (-4) which is the same as - 11 + 4 = - 7.