Question

Katie is evaluating the expression -5 - (-2) using integer tiles. She begins with 5 negative tiles as shown. What should Katie do next to find the value of the expression?

a) Remove 2 negative tiles
b) Remove 3 negative tiles
c) Add 2 negative tiles
d) Add 7 negative tiles

Answer 1

To evaluate the expression -5 - (-2), Katie should remove 2 negative tiles as it represents adding 2 positive values to -5, resulting in -3.

Step-by-step explanation:

Katie is evaluating the expression -5 - (-2) using integer tiles. To find the value of the expression, Katie should remove 2 negative tiles. The subtraction of a negative number is the same as addition. Since Katie starts with 5 negative tiles and removes 2 (because subtracting a negative is like adding a positive), she's essentially adding 2 positive values to the original -5.

This can be seen in the integer addition rule where two numbers having opposite signs are added by subtracting the smaller number from the larger one and taking the sign of the larger number, for example, -5 + 2 = -3. Therefore, Katie's next step to find the value of the expression -5 - (-2) would be option (a) Remove 2 negative tiles.