Translating Word Phrases into Expressions With Integers

Learning Outcomes

  • Translate word phrases that contain negative numbers, or opposites

Now we can translate word phrases into expressions with integers. Look for words that indicate a negative sign. For example, the word negative in “negative twenty” indicates [latex]-20[/latex]. So does the word opposite in “the opposite of [latex]20\text{.''}[/latex]

Example

Translate each phrase into an expression with integers:

  1. The opposite of positive fourteen
  2. The opposite of [latex]-11[/latex]
  3. Negative sixteen
  4. Two minus negative seven

Solution:

  1. The opposite of positive fourteen:  [latex]-14[/latex]
  2. The opposite of [latex]−11[/latex]:  [latex]-\left(-11\right)[/latex]
  3. Negative sixteen:  [latex]-16[/latex]
  4. Two minus negative seven:  [latex]2-\left(-7\right)[/latex]

 

try it

https://ohm.lumenlearning.com/multiembedq.php?id=144975&theme=oea&iframe_resize_id=mom1

As we saw at the start of this section, negative numbers are needed to describe many real-world situations. We’ll look at some more applications of negative numbers in the next example.

example

Translate into an expression with integers:

  1. The temperature is [latex]12[/latex] degrees Fahrenheit below zero.
  2. The football team had a gain of [latex]3[/latex] yards.
  3. The elevation of the Dead Sea is [latex]1,302[/latex] feet below sea level.
  4. A checking account is overdrawn by [latex]$40[/latex]

 

try it

https://ohm.lumenlearning.com/multiembedq.php?id=144976&theme=oea&iframe_resize_id=mom2