How do you simplify –15 – (–3) + 4?

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Answer 1 · 2018-07-09T22:41:57

$- 8$ $-8$

$- 15 - (- 3) + 4$ $-15 - (-3) + 4$

First, we know that two negative signs next to each other mean a positive sign:
$- 15 + 3 + 4$ $-15 + 3 + 4$

Now add from left to right:
$- 12 + 4$ $-12 + 4$

$= - 8$ $=-8$

Hope this helps!

Answer 2 · 2018-07-09T22:47:20

$- 8$ $-8$

One of the key realizations is that when we subtract a negative number, we are adding the positive version of that number.

With this in mind, we can rewrite our expression as

$- 15 + 3 + 4$ $-15+3+4$ , which simplifies to

$- 15 + 7$ $-15+7$ , or $7 - 15 = - 8$ $7-15=-8$

Hope this helps!