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What's a negative minus a positive?

Subtracting a positive number from a negative number results in a negative number. Thus, negative minus positive equals negative.

study.com - Subtracting Positive & Negative Numbers - Video & Lesson Transcript

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Video Transcript

Positive and Negative Numbers

While Thomas was eating his dinner, his mother offered him more peas. He said, ''I don't want no peas,'' so she followed his request and gave him some. Thomas' two negatives (''don't'' and ''no'') equal a positive. Are negative numbers also like that?

On a number line, numbers get larger as you move to the right and get smaller as you move to the left. Negative numbers are numbers less than zero and are written with a negative sign (-) in front of them.

Number Line

Look at the number line. You see how -1 is to the left of 0. This means it's less than 0. Now look at -3. It is to the left of -1 which means that -3 is less than -1. While it doesn't seem to make sense that a number with 3 can be less than a number with 1, that is how it works with negative numbers.

Subtracting Positive Numbers

First, let's look at positive minus positive. Okay, you already know that 5 - 3 = 2, but how about 3 - 5? That is strange, isn't it? Strange, in other words, that the bigger number would come second, but this can happen. It's sort of like if you only have $3, but you owe somebody $5. Start at 3 on the number line and count backward 5 places. You go 2 , 1 , 0 , -1 , -2. So 3 - 5 = -2. This means you are $2 in the hole; you still owe $2.

Subtracting a Larger Number from a Smaller Number

Now, how about 2 - 4? You start at 2 and count backward four places. Use the number line if you want. Starting at 2, it will go 1 , 0 , -1 , -2. So, 2 - 4 = -2. Now let's look at negative minus positive. Let's try -3 - 2. Well, you are still subtracting one number from another, so, you are still moving to the left. Start at -3, then count back 2 places: -4, - 5. Our final equation is: -3 - 2 = -5.

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Do 2 positives make a positive?

Multiplication and Division If two positive numbers are multiplied together or divided, the answer is positive. If two negative numbers are multiplied together or divided, the answer is positive. If a positive and a negative number are multiplied or divided, the answer is negative.

revisionmaths.com - Positive & Negative Numbers - Maths GCSE Revision

Numbers can either be positive or negative. Often brackets are put around negative numbers to make them easier to read, e.g. (-2). If a number is positive, the + is usually missed out before the number. So 3 is really (+3). Adding and multiplying combinations of positive and negative numbers can cause confusion and so care must be taken. Two 'pluses' make a plus, two 'minuses' make a plus. A plus and a minus make a minus.

Example

3 + (-2) A plus and a minus make a minus, so this is the same as 3 - 2 = 1

Example

(-2) + (-5) = -7 This is the same as (-2) - 5 = -7

This video explains more about how this works

Multiplication and Division

If two positive numbers are multiplied together or divided, the answer is positive. If two negative numbers are multiplied together or divided, the answer is positive. If a positive and a negative number are multiplied or divided, the answer is negative.