MA, Stanford University
Teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area
Alissa is currently a teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area and Brightstorm users love her clear, concise explanations of tough concepts
When asked to find the additive inverse of a number, first remember that two numbers are additive inverses if their sum is 0. Think about what number needs to be added to the given number in order for the sum to equal 0. To find the additive inverse of a the given number, take the given number and change the sign. The resulting number is the additive inverse.
This problem asks us to find additive inverses so first we have got to remember what that means. Those of you who have been watching Brightstorm just probably saw that video and that can help you out or if you have your textbook open you might be able to see the official definition which tells you that two numbers are additive inverses if their sum is zero, meaning they add up to zero.
So I have to think 6 plus what number gives me the answer zero and it's tricky because usually with adding, a number is going to increase. So I need to do a special kind of adding where I'm going to be adding a negative number, 6 plus -6 gives me the answer 0. So what's the additive inverse? -6.
This one is kind of similar, what number plus -10 would give me the answer 0? Well if I need to get -10 to 0 I need to do -10 plus 10 so my additive inverse for -10 is going to be +10. Before we move on one last thing I want you to keep in mind is that this part of the word right here gives you a hint. It tells you you're going to have to do some addition. So keep that in mind as you work through your homework problems about additive inverses.
