help me combine like terms. like how do you do it with different signs in the problem.
17 + 4w - 12 - w
17 -12 is a subtraction problem
4w -w is a subtraction problem.
so lets say i had 4w-8-1w
i take 4w+1w= 5w
then i have -8 left and i do
5w-8
4w-8-1w
Why did you change the problem from -1w to + 1w?
4w - 1w = 3w
4w-8-1w = 3w - 8
it was not negative that was a subtraction sign
Then why didn't you subtract 1w from 4w?
Negative signs and subtraction signs are really the same thing.
You can write -8 - 6
negative 8 subtract 6
which is the same thing as writing
-8 + -6
negative eight plus negative 6.
In both cases, you get a -14 as the answer.
17+4w-12-w
=17-12+4w-w
=5+3w
...and yes "plus a negative" is exactly the same as minus.