2-2 Adding & Subtracting

Rational Numbers
Class Assignment

 Evaluate the following if a =5, b= -8 and

c = -3:
3. |b| + 7
4. a - |c|
5. |a| + |b|
6. 6|b|
Activity
 For this activity each circle is worth “one”
 + is positive
 - is negative
 You can represent a number by drawing
that amount of counters on your paper.
Your Turn
 On your paper use the counters to
represent the following numbers
2. -8 - - - - - - - -
3. +2 + +
4. -6 - - - - - -
5. +10 + + + + + + + + + + +
Zero Pairs
 When adding the counters together you
remove zero pairs to get the solution
 A zero pair is 1 red counter and 1 yellow
counter
Example: -3+2=
Draw 3 negative counters and 2 positive
counters on your paper like this:

These are zero pairs. The positive and

- + negative cancel each other out. Cross
them out. Whatever is left is the answer.
- +

- The answer is -3 + 2 = -1
Draw the counters to illustrate the problem
5 + (-2)
 Draw 5 positive counters on your paper
 Draw 2 negative counters on your paper
 Remove the zero pairs to get your answer

 And the answer is…

+ -

+ -
+

+
5 + (-2) = 3
+
 Use the counters to illustrate the problem
7 + (-5)
 Draw 7 positive counters on your paper
 Draw 5 negative counters on your paper
 Remove the zero pairs to get your answer

 And the answer is…

+ + - -

+ + - - =2
+ + -

+
Your Turn
 Draw the counters to illustrate the
problem
-1+1
 And the answer is…
The discovery you should
have made during this
activity is…
When adding integers, if
the signs are the same
you add and keep the
sign…
Ifthe signs are different
you actually subtract and
KEEP THE SIGN OF THE
LARGER NUMBER…

…or in other words, whichever has

the higher Absolute Value
Opposites
 Before we can go on to subtracting
integers, I need to make sure that we
all understand “what is the opposite”?.
 Raise you hand if you know the answer
to the question…
 What is the opposite of 5? -5
 What is the opposite of 12? -12

 What is the opposite of -8? 8

 What is the opposite of -35? 35
Subtracting Integers
 The rule for subtracting integers is:
To subtract integers,
just add its opposite
 Here is what that looks like…
 3–5=
First you have to know what the
opposite of 5 is…in this case -5
Second you need to add the opposite,
therefore the equation changes to
3 + (-5) =
Then you follow the rules
for adding integers
 Example

7 – (-15) =
7 + 15 = 22
When
SUBTRACTING…
…just ADD THE OPPOSITE !!!
 Example # 4
-30 – (-20) =
-10
-30 + 20 =
When SUBTRACTING…

just ADD THE OPPOSITE

Your Turn
1. 6 – (-7) =
2. - 5 – (-19) =
3. - 14 – (-2) =
Observations
You might have already made
the observation that when
see a
double negative you change
it to a plus.
8 + 8 = 16
8 – (-8) =