Big Ideas Math: Modeling Real Life, Grade 7
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Big Ideas Math: Modeling Real Life, Grade 7 View details
3. Adding Rational Numbers
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Exercise 12 Page 21

When calculating the sum of two numbers with different signs, we subtract the lesser absolute value from the greater absolute value.

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Practice makes perfect
We want to find the sum. Let's look at the given expression! 1/12+( - 7/12)Now, we can find the sum of two numbers with different signs. We can do so by subtracting the lesser absolute value from the greater absolute value. Then, we will use the sign of the number with the greater absolute value. First, we will calculate the absolute value of the numbers. | 11/12|=11/12and| - 7/12|=7/12 Notice that | 1112| is greater than | - 712|. This means that we should subtract | - 712| from | 1112|. Let's do it!
|11/12|-|- 7/12|
11/12-|- 7/12|
11/12-7/12
11-7/12
4/12
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Recall that the number with the greater absolute value is negative. This means that the sum is also a negative number, - 13.