Which situation describes opposite quantities that when combined would equal
zero?
One situation that describes opposite quantities that when combined would equal zero is when a person withdraws $50 from their bank account and then deposits $50 back into their account. The withdrawal and deposit are opposite actions that cancel each other out, resulting in a net change of zero dollars.
The situation that describes opposite quantities that when combined would equal zero is called additive inverse. In mathematics, the additive inverse of a number is the opposite of that number and when you add a number to its additive inverse, the sum is always zero.
For example, the additive inverse of 5 is -5 because 5 + (-5) = 0. Similarly, the additive inverse of -8 is 8, because -8 + 8 = 0. In general, for any real number a, its additive inverse is -a, because a + (-a) = 0.