answersLogoWhite

0

When you are talking about opposites, or inverses; we know that for everything there is an opposite to that particular "thing". As in happy opposite of happy would be sad,

opposite of tall would be short, opposite of high would be low. Math has these type of opposites as well, for example, opposite of addition is subtraction, opposite of multiplication is division.

So when you think of negative numbers there opposite would be positive. what is the opposite of a negative person? A positive person.

Math works kind of the same way, if you want to cancel a number out to get zero or take its additive inverse you would add its opposite.

for example, the number 6 we want to find its opposite to get an overall value of zero what do we have to add to "6" to get zero? We would have to add -6 (negative 6) or its opposite.

6+ (-6)= 0 or 6-6=0

I hope this explanation helps a bit!

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

Still curious? Ask our experts.

Chat with our AI personalities

JudyJudy
Simplicity is my specialty.
Chat with Judy
BeauBeau
You're doing better than you think!
Chat with Beau
BlakeBlake
As your older brother, I've been where you are—maybe not exactly, but close enough.
Chat with Blake

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why is the opposite of negative numbers positive?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp