Question

Leo and Mai wrote expressions to answer the question. Leo's expression:-2 3-5 Mai's expression:-2 3-(-5) Who wrote a correct expression explain

Answer 1

Mai wrote the correct expression because it properly changes the sign of the subtracted number from a negative to a positive before applying the addition rules, resulting in -2 + 3 + 5 which equals 6.

Step-by-step explanation:

When addressing the question of which expression is correct, we must evaluate both expressions provided by Leo and Mai based on the rules of adding and subtracting integers. Leo's expression is -2 + 3 - 5, while Mai's expression is -2 + 3 - (-5). To determine the correctness, consider the following:

• When subtracting, you change the sign of the number being subtracted and follow the addition rules.
• For the example, 5 - (+3) equals 5 - 3 equals 2, the +3 becomes -3 before subtraction.
• Another example is 2 - (-6) equals 2 + 6 equals 8, where the -6 becomes +6 before addition.

Applying these rules, Leo's expression simplifies to -2 + 3 - 5 equals -4, which correctly combines integers according to the rules. On the other hand, Mai's expression accounts for the double negative in -(-5), which becomes +5 and simplifies to -2 + 3 + 5 equals 6.

Therefore, Mai wrote the correct expression because it properly utilizes the rule of changing the sign when subtracting a negative.