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 −20. So does the word opposite in “the opposite of 20."

Example

Translate each phrase into an expression with integers:

  1. The opposite of positive fourteen
  2. The opposite of −11
  3. Negative sixteen
  4. Two minus negative seven

Solution:

  1. The opposite of positive fourteen:  −14
  2. The opposite of −11:  −(−11)
  3. Negative sixteen:  −16
  4. Two minus negative seven:  2−(−7)

 

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

 

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