If you subtract a negative from a positive what do you get?

Answer 1

if you subtract a negative from a positive, you get a positive. subtracting a negative number is like addition, because the subtraction of a "negative," or opposite, results in a "double negative..." For example, 2 - (-5) = 7. It is no coincidence that a "negative" sign and a "subtraction" sign look the same...THEY MEAN THE SAME THING. In terms of money, with which we are all familiar, subtracting a negative is like subtracting a debt. For example, if you borrow $50 to buy a game, your account balance is "-50" because you owe that much money. However, if you pay off $5 a week, after the first week, you've subtracted $5 from the debt that you owe... - 50 - (-5) = 45. Even if you need to rewrite the subtraction problem so that it appears as an addition problem (then to which you can apply the rules for adding numbers with like & different signs), change the subtraction sign to addition, and switch the sign of the second number. {Ex: 2 - (-8) = 2 + (+8) = 10}. Pretend you're in English class... we even use "double negatives" in our everyday speech, where we negate what was just said... Ex: "we will not be having 'no homework tonight.'") In other words, sharpen your pencils, because there is, indeed, an assignment. When subtracting a negative, it's like taking the "opposite of the opposite..." which has you winding up right where you started... the opposite of a negative is a positive, so you add the positive number