What is 3 minus negative 2?
Here we will not only give you the answer to 3 minus negative 2, but also explain how we got the answer.
Start by picturing a number line that goes to negative infinity on the left side of 0 and positive infinity on the right side of 0:
∞ ..... -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, .... ∞
Looking at the number line above, we can make the following observation:
Adding a positive number goes to the right.
Adding a negative number goes to the left.
Adding and subtracting cannot go in the same direction on a number line. Therefore, this must also be true:
Subtracting a positive number goes to the left.
Subtracting a negative number goes to the right.
Thus, with the problem 3 minus negative 2, we are subtracting a negative number and we go to the right. Specifically, we go from +3 to +5 on the number line.
Here is 3 minus negative 2 in mathematical terms with the answer:
3 - (-2) = 5
You may already know that minus minus equals plus or that 3 minus negative 2 is the same as 3 plus 2, but we hope that this page explained the underlying mathematical reason for the answer.
Minus Negative Calculator
The answer to 3 minus negative 2 is not all we know. Try a similar problem here.
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