Question

Shana, who lives in Canada, and Pearl, who lives in Pennsylvania, were discussing the weather. Shana complained about the cold temperature of Negative 20 degrees Celsius. Pearl, who lives in Pennsylvania, mentioned that her temperature was the opposite of Shana’s. Which is the correct way to represent “the opposite of Shana’s temperature is equal to Pearl’s”?

Answer 1

20 degrees Celsius

The temperature in Pennsylvania is the opposite of the temperature in Canada, therefore -20⁰ Celsius in Canada would then be 20⁰ Celsius in Pennsylvania.

Answer 2

You can represent "the opposite of Shana's temperature is equal to Pearl's" as follows:

(-20 C) + (-x) = x

Where x represents Pearl's temperature.

Alternatively, you can also write it as:

20 C - x = x

Both of these equations are equivalent and mean the same thing: the opposite of Shana's temperature is equal to Pearl's temperature.

Explanation: