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Use a number line to help represent the situation from the exercise. Recall how to use the additive inverse to write subtraction as addition.
-5^(∘)C
We want to find what is the expected temperature. We can use a number line to visualize the given situation. From the exercise, we know that when Preston got home, it was 12^(∘)C. The weather report shows that because of a storm, the temperature will drop by 17^(∘)C. Let's list the steps we will follow to create a number line for this situation.
Let's mark these steps on a number line.
As we can see from the graph, subtracting 17 from 12 is the same as adding 12 and -17. This is because -17 is the opposite of 17, and subtracting a number is equal to adding its opposite. Let's add the two integers to find the expected temperature. Consider the expression that represents this situation. 12-17=12+(-17) Notice that we are adding two integers with different signs, one positive and one negative. This means that we will subtract the absolute values of the integers. Let's take a look!
Keep in mind that we moved a greater distance to the left than to the right because |-17| is greater than |12|. That means the result is negative. We can say that the expected temperature is -5^(∘)C.