Final answer:
The expression 2+(3) equals 5, not -1. The sum of two positive numbers is always positive, and the parentheses do not change the sign of the number within them. The correct evaluation of the sum 2+(3) represents moving horizontally to the right on a number line.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that 2+(3) equals -1 is incorrect because when you add two numbers with the same sign, the result should retain the sign. When two positive numbers add, such as in 2+3, the sum is positive. Here, 2+3 equals 5, not -1. There is a possibility of confusion with the parentheses; however, parentheses around a number do not change its sign. According to the rules of addition:
- When two positive numbers add, such as 2+3, the sum is positive: 2+3=5.
- If we were adding two negative numbers, such as -2 + (-3), the sum would be negative: -2 + (-3) = -5.
- If we combine numbers with opposite signs, we subtract the smaller number from the larger one and keep the sign of the larger number. For example, -5 + 3 = -2, because 5 > 3 and the larger number (-5) is negative.
Therefore, the correct answer to the student's question is none of the stated options. The expression 2 + (3), without any negative signs involved, equals positive 5, not -1, and would represent a movement horizontally to the right on the number line starting from 2 and moving 3 units to the right.