Interactive · 2 questions
Combining Opposite Numbers to Make
When you add a negative number to its positive counterpart, the answer will always be .
Let’s take a look at an example. .
First, let’s draw a number line and start at .

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Next, add to . This is essentially the same as subtracting from .

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The answer is because is a counterpart of . As a result, we say is the additive inverse of . Also, is called the additive inverse of .
Let's look at another example: .
We can solve this problem without drawing a number line. Looking at the equation, we can observe that is the counterpart of . Adding these two numbers will result in , so . This can be thought of solving the equation
where is a variable. Adding to both sides is the same as finding the additive inverse.
Now, let's try a couple of examples without drawing a number line. You can still draw it yourself if you need to. After a while you probably won't need to. The picture will pop up in your head like magic!
To make zero, add the opposite of , which is .








