Question

When x=2 and y=3, which expression has the smallest value?
x-y
x(y)
x+y
x/y

Answer 1

x-y=. 2-3=-1

x(y)=. 2(3)=6

x+y= 2+3= 5

x/y= 2/3= 0.66......

Therefore, x-y has the smallest value, that is -1.

Answer 2

x - y = -1

Explanation:

The value of the first expression is negative:

2 - 3 = -1

All of the other expressions give positive values, so are larger.

The expression with the smallest value is x-y.

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If x(y) is supposed to mean x^y, the exponentiation operator is needed. Otherwise, it is interpreted as x·y.