Adding a Negative: Absolute Value and ParenthesesDate: 08/25/2001 at 13:53:11 From: Allison Subject: I just don't get it Dear Doctor Math, Usually math is my best subject. This year I'm in the seventh grade and in a Pre-Algebra course. Our first lesson was on positive and negative numbers and I got that, but when we got into the absolute value symbols and the parentheses it went completely over my head! For example: 0-(-2). My math teacher said that if you have two negative symbols that it equals one positive number; 0-(-(-2)). Well, that just confused me! So I asked him to try to explain it, but I just still didn't get it. Anyway, he said that the answer would be positive 2. Well that confused me even more because if we're supposed to be subtracting, than how did we end up adding? And if you're just going to turn (-2) into 2, than why don't they just come out and say it: 0-2. I don't see the need for all of this other stuff and I don't understand what an absolute value is. If you have the absolute value of -20, isn't that the same as -20? Help! - Overwhelmed in Oklahoma Date: 08/25/2001 at 23:10:32 From: Doctor Peterson Subject: Re: I just don't get it Hi, Allison. Thanks for a stimulating question! You've told me enough of your thinking to really help me think through how to make things clearer to you. First, negative numbers can be confusing at first, so we get lots of questions about them. If my answer isn't enough, you can try looking through our archives to see if other things we've said about negative numbers help: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/tocs/negative.middle.html Also check out our FAQ on multiplying negative times negative: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.negxneg.html Now let's look at your questions. First, what is an absolute value? Basically, it's what's left of a number if you take off the sign. So the absolute value of -20, |-20|, is 20, since we take off the "-". The absolute value of +20 is also 20, since we take off the "+" as well (which doesn't change anything, of course). We define it formally in more complicated sounding ways, such as "the number itself, or the negative of the number, whichever is not negative"; or, "the distance between 0 and the given number on the number line." But for many purposes, what I've said is what lies behind it all: we can work with negative numbers by thinking separately about the number's sign and its "size," which we call "absolute value." Now, what is 0 - (-2)? First, we should ask what it even means to subtract a number from another. What is 3 - 2? Well, it's the number I have to add to 2 to get 3. The definition of subtraction is : a - b = c when a = b + c In this case, we want 0 - (-2) = ? when 0 = (-2) + ? So what do we have to add to -2 to get 0? Look on the number line: -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 <--+---+---+---+---+---+---+--> o------> To get from -2 to 0, we have to go right 2 units; that is, we have to add 2. To put it another way, -2 + 2 = 0, so 0 - (-2) = 2 This is really how we defined negative numbers in the first place. The negative of a number is the number you can add to it to get 0. (We say that -2 is the "additive inverse" of 2, meaning that their sum is zero.) If you're not yet convinced that 2 is the right answer, play with these ideas and the number line until you're convinced. Now what was all that that your teacher was saying about double negatives? Once you get used to the idea of negative numbers this becomes second nature, so you can easily forget that it confuses people who are new to it. But here's the reasoning (using algebraic symbols, rather than all the talk I did to try to convince you). I'll write it out in two steps, and then explain them, so don't worry if you don't follow it the first time through: 0 - (-2) = 0 + -(-2) = 0 + 2 = 2 The first step is to replace subtraction with addition of the negative. The general rule is a - b = a + -b Why should this be true? Take an example, 3 - 2 = 3 + -2 This means that if I start at 3 on the number line and add -2, I end up at 1. I've taken 2 away from 3 by adding -2: -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 <--+---+---+---+---+---+---+--> +----------> <------+ So adding the negative is the same as subtracting the original number. Essentially, a negative means taking something away; that's why we use the minus sign. The second step in my explanation was to replace -(-2) with 2. Why should the negative of a negative be the original number? Well, the negative of a number means you flip the number over on the number line, from a positive 2 +----------> to a negative <----------+ -2 If you flip it again, +----------> you get back to the positive. So the negative of -2 is 2; 2 and -2 are negatives of one another. Put this all together, and you have what your teacher was saying: subtracting -2 is the same as adding +2. It feels odd at first, because it says that you can get bigger by adding something. But aren't negative numbers kind of backward in the first place? You should expect things to work backward with them. That's really what they are all about. Feel free to write back if you need more help with all this! - Doctor Peterson, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ |
Search the Dr. Math Library: |
[Privacy Policy] [Terms of Use]
Ask Dr. MathTM
© 1994- The Math Forum at NCTM. All rights reserved.
http://mathforum.org/dr.math/