# Chapter 9 - Basic Algebra - 9.2 Adding and Subtracting Signed Numbers - 9.2 Exercises - Page 641: 99

(a) The answers are similar because their absolute values are the same. The answers only differ in their signs. (b) When you switch the order of the numbers in a subtraction problem, the answer becomes the opposite (additive inverse) of the original answer. In symbols, for any real numbers $a$ and $b$, $a-b = -(b-a)$

#### Work Step by Step

From Exercise 98, we have the following answers: \begin{array}{cc}&\space-3-5=-8; &5-(-3)=8 \\& \space -4-(-6)=2; &-6-(-4)=-2 \\& \space 3-10=-7; &10-3=7 \end{array} (a) The answers are similar because their absolute values are the same. The answers only differ in their signs. (b) When you switch the order of the numbers in a subtraction problem, the answer becomes the opposite (additive inverse) of the original answer. In symbols, for any real numbers $a$ and $b$, $a-b = -(b-a)$

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