Question

Find out the solution of the following riddle:
The first number is the negative of $(-9)$. The second number is less than the first number. If the distance between the two numbers on the number line is 11, then what are the first and second numbers?

• A. $(-9)\&2$
• B. $9\&(-2)$
• C. $9\&20$
• D. $(-9)\&(-20)$

Answer 1

The correct option is B $9\&(-2)$

This question can be solved using the number line.

The first number is the negative of $(-9)$, i.e., $-(-9)=+9=9$. So, we can eliminate options (a) and (d).

The distance between the first and second numbers is 11. The first number is 9, so, the second number can be $(-2)$ or 20 as $9-(-2)=11$ and $20-9=11$, which is also very clear from the number line.
However as per question, the second number is less than the first number. However,the second number cannot be 20 as $20>9$; the second number should be $\text{-2}$.