IXL | Add and subtract integers: word problems

Read this word problem.

Bryant was playing the video game Ship, Ship Ahoy! He began Level 2 with 15 points but soon got

–

points because his character fell overboard. What is Bryant's total score now?

To solve the problem, Will added

(

–

)

and came up with an answer of

–

Is Will correct? Why or why not?

Yes, Will is correct.

No. The answer should have been 9, not

–

because Bryant had more points to start than he lost when he fell overboard.

No. Will should have subtracted

–

(

–

)

because Bryant got negative points.

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

Read this word problem.

New Orleans is 2 meters below sea level. Baton Rouge is 17 meters above sea level. How much higher is Baton Rouge than New Orleans?

To solve the problem, Tess subtracted

–

and came up with an answer of

–

meters. Is Tess correct? Why or why not?

Yes, Tess is correct.

No. Tess should have subtracted

–

(

–

)

because Baton Rouge is 17 meters above sea level and New Orleans is 2 meters below sea level.

No. Tess should have subtracted

–

because she needed to find the difference in elevations.

key idea

To add two numbers with the same

sign,

add the absolute values of the numbers. Keep their sign. For example,

–

(

–

)

–

To add two numbers with different

signs,

subtract the absolute values of the numbers. Keep the sign of the number with the larger absolute value. For example,

–

Subtracting a number is the same as adding its opposite. For example,

–

(

–

)

–

solution

To see if Tess is correct, start by listing the information she was given in the problem.

New Orleans is 2 meters below sea level. You can represent this with the number
–
2
.
Baton Rouge is 17 meters above sea level.

Now write an expression that represents the situation. Tess needs to find the difference in elevations, so subtract the elevation of New Orleans from the elevation of Baton Rouge.

17	−	( – 2 )	=	?

elevation of Baton Rouge		elevation of New Orleans		difference in elevations

Subtract. You can start by rewriting the expression with addition.

–

(

–

)

So, Baton Rouge is 19 meters higher than New Orleans.

Tess is incorrect. She should have subtracted 17 - (-2) because Baton Rouge is 17 meters above sea level and New Orleans is 2 meters below sea level.

Looking for more? Try these:

Lesson: Adding and subtracting integers

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Teacher tools

Work it out

Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

P.3Add integers

P.6Subtract integers

O.1Understanding integers

Lesson: Adding and subtracting integers

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