Main content
7th grade
Course: 7th grade > Unit 1
Lesson 2: Intro to subtracting negative numbersSubtracting a negative = adding a positive
Find out why subtracting a negative number is the same as adding the absolute value of that number. Created by Sal Khan.
Want to join the conversation?
- I learned this trick and I think it will help you guys:
(Example)
-7 + 8 = 1
You see -7 plus 8 = 1. Even though it says plus, in this case, we can
subtract and keep the sign of the larger number. 8 is the larger number so we keep the sign of the larger number (positive) and we subtract 7 - 8 = 1. The answer is 1.(57 votes)- I really forgot how to subtract negative numbers. Can someone tell me how so I can remember. Thnx!(5 votes)
- How is adding a negative equivalent to a negative? How is it possible?(2 votes)
- Well, it depends on what the negative number is. For example, in 5+(-7), since the number 7 is greater than 5, you take away more than you have, so you then have a negative amount. 5+(-7) basically equals 5-7, which equals -2.
For example:
If you have $5 in your bank account and you spend $7, you have $0, but you also owe $2(40 votes)
- Also,my teacher showed me a word problem for a warm up and it said that someone had -3 dollars. How can you have minus three dollars in cash?(4 votes)
- Think of this situation.
You have $5 dollars, but you want to buy something from your friend for $8 dollars.
5 - 8 = -3
You now owe your friend $3 before you start making any money for yourself.
You are now at -$3 dollars. You get $20 for your birthday. How much money do you have now? You have $17 because you have to pay your friend back the $3 dollars you owe them.
-3+20 = 17
Great question and hope this helps <|:)(11 votes)
- can u explain it better for me please(3 votes)
- The two negatives cancel each other out, because negative negative would just be another positive.
On the other hand, a positive and a negative would equal a negative as the two signs aren't the same.
Ex.
2-2=2+(-2)
but
2-(-2)=4, not 0.
To help, think of it like -(- just being a disassembled +
They even look similar!
+ -(-(11 votes)
- I like peanut butter(8 votes)
- No like sweden (ikeas) meatballs or hamborger(2 votes)
- your good at drawing! <3(6 votes)
- can anyone help me(4 votes)
- Me when i meet the guy who made khana academy: 209.181.343.272(4 votes)
- you really leaked his ip😭(1 vote)
- At, why did you place the money, the three dollars from his uncle, in the parenthesis? I thought that was only in the order of operations? 0:43(4 votes)
- To keep it strait. Does this look right? --3 That's why we need the parenthesis. Ex. -(-3)(2 votes)
Video transcript
This is Steve and this is Steve's uncle
and Steve is in a bit of a bind. Not only does he not have any money
but he also owes Michael, who is not depicted here. He owes Michael $3. So he actually
has a negative net worth. Steve has a net worth of -3. Steve's uncle cares about Steve
and feels bad that he doesn't even have a 0 net worth;
he has a negative net worth! And so Steve's uncle wants to at least
take away some of this pain. He at least wants to get Steve back
to a neutral net worth, a 0 net worth. So he decides to take away
Steve's negative net worth. He wants to take away that -3. What happens if you take away that -3?
Well, that should get you back to 0. If you take away anything...
if you have something and you take it away,
it should go back to 0. Similarly if you owe people things
and that owing people things is taken away, it also gets back to 0. And another way to think about it is
how Steve's uncle would actually take that liability,
take that debt away from Steve. Well, the easiest way he could do it
if Steve is starting at -3 net worth is for his uncle to give Steve $3,
so that he(Steve) can get back to a net worth of 0. So hopefully, that makes it
a little bit clearer, that this and this
are intuitively equivalent.