Basic Math Examples

| - 5 + - 8 |

$| - 5 + - 8 |$

Step 1

Replace all occurrences of

+

$+$

-

$-$ with a single

-

$-$ . A plus sign followed by a minus sign has the same mathematical meaning as a single minus sign because

1 \cdot - 1 = - 1

$1 \cdot - 1 = - 1$

| - 5 - 8 |

$| - 5 - 8 |$

Step 2

Subtract

8

$8$ from

- 5

$- 5$ .

| - 13 |

$| - 13 |$

Step 3

The absolute value is the distance between a number and zero. The distance between

- 13

$- 13$ and

0

$0$ is

13

$13$ .

13

$13$