How can this be? I am supposed to solve (-3-8i)-(-2-9i). Once it is broken down, you get (-3+2)-(8i-9i) I got -1+-1i, but my book said the answer is -1+i. Thanks for your help.

The book is ccorrect: -i(8-9)=-i(-1)=i

To solve the expression (-3-8i)-(-2-9i), you can follow these steps:

Step 1: Distribute the negative sign into the parentheses. This means you need to change the signs of each term inside the parentheses. (-3-8i) becomes -3 - 8i, and (-2-9i) becomes -2 + 9i.

Step 2: Now, you have (-3 - 8i) - (-2 + 9i). To simplify this expression, apply the distributive property of subtraction: a - (-b) is equal to a + b.

So, you can rewrite the expression as (-3 - 8i) + (2 - 9i).

Step 3: Combine the real parts and the imaginary parts separately.

For the real parts: -3 + 2 = -1.

For the imaginary parts: -8i - 9i = -17i.

Step 4: Combine the real and imaginary parts together to get the simplified answer.

So, the final answer is -1 - 17i.

The answer you got, -1 - 1i, is correct according to the steps mentioned above. It seems like there might be an error in your book. The correct answer is -1 - 17i, not -1 + i.