Question

Is 5 - (-3) equal to 8 or -2. And if one or the other, please state why one is correct and the other isn't.

Answer 1

8

two negatives make a postive as they cancel each other out

5 - - 3 = 5 + 3 = 8

the only way the answer could be - 2 is if the original question said 5 + - 3 = - 2

Answer 2

5 - (-3) equals 8.

Explanation:

5 - (-3) equals 8.

To see why, let's break it down step-by-steps

5 - (-3) is the same as 5 + 3.

5 + 3 is equal to 8.

Therefore, 5 - (-3) is equal to 8.

-2 is not the correct answer because it is the opposite of 8. 5 - (-3) is a positive number, and -2 is a negative number.

Another way to think about it is that subtraction is the opposite of addition. So, if 5 + 3 = 8, then 5 - (-3) must also equal 8.