negative 7 minus 2
Understand the Problem
The question is asking for the result of the mathematical operation where negative seven is subtracted by two. This involves basic arithmetic to find the answer.
Answer
The answer is $-9$.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is $-9$.
Steps to Solve
- Identify the numbers involved
We have two numbers: negative seven, which can be written as $-7$, and positive two written as $2$.
- Set up the subtraction operation
To find the result of subtracting two from negative seven, we can express this as:
$$ -7 - 2 $$
- Perform the subtraction
Now we will perform the subtraction: When subtracting a positive number, it is the same as adding a negative number. Thus, we rewrite our equation as:
$$ -7 + (-2) $$
- Combine the numbers
Now we need to combine the two negative numbers:
$$ -7 + (-2) = -9 $$
The final answer is $-9$.
More Information
Subtracting a positive number from a negative number always results in a larger negative number. In this case, we went further down the number line into the negatives.
Tips
- A common mistake is overlooking the signs when performing operations. Always ensure to carefully consider the signs (positive or negative) of the numbers involved in the calculation.
- Another mistake is misunderstanding that subtracting a positive is equivalent to adding a negative.