Think about the number line and presume 1 step to the left is represented by -1 while 2 steps to the right is represented by 2.
We moved 10 steps to the right and then 11 steps to the left.
What is our current position relative to the starting point at zero?
geez - just get out a pencil and draw the number line. Start at 0.
Move right 10 and then left 11
where are you?
-1.....I think.....Is that right?
correct
ok I don't get this one:
When Gabe turned 14 years old, his mother gave him a special coin she had gotten from her mother at the very same age. She received her coin from Gabe's grandmother in 1971 and gave it to him in 2002.
If 12 years before Gabe was born is represented by -12 and 9 years after he was born is represented as 9, determine what 0 represents in this situation. Write your answer as the year that correlates with 0.
surely you can see that 0 represents the year Gabe was born.
since Gabe was 14 in 2002, you can easily figure out the year that he was born.
To find your current position relative to the starting point at zero, we'll need to calculate the sum of the steps taken to the right and the steps taken to the left.
Starting at zero, moving 10 steps to the right would take you to position +10.
Next, moving 11 steps to the left will take you back towards the starting point. Since each step to the left is represented by -1, taking 11 steps to the left can be expressed as -11.
To find your current position, we can add the steps to the right (+10) and the steps to the left (-11).
10 + (-11) = -1
Therefore, your current position relative to the starting point at zero is -1. You are one step to the left of the starting point.