What is 32 minus negative 16?

Here we will not only give you the answer to 32 minus negative 16, 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 32 minus negative 16, we are subtracting a negative number and we go to the right. Specifically, we go from +32 to +48 on the number line.

Here is 32 minus negative 16 in mathematical terms with the answer:

32 - (-16) = 48

You may already know that minus minus equals plus or that 32 minus negative 16 is the same as 32 plus 16, but we hope that this page explained the underlying mathematical reason for the answer.

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