Question

Simplify:

(8) [–16 + 4] + 3

Answer 1

[–16 + 4] + 3
Let us first solve the subtraction in square brackets.
Ignoring the signs, let us subtract the smaller number from the bigger number.
16 – 4 = 12
Since, the bigger number has the negative sign, the result will be (–12).
Now, the expression gets reduced to
[–12]+ 3
Ignoring the signs, let us subtract the smaller number from the bigger number.
12 – 3 = 9
Since the bigger number has the negative sign, the result will be (–9).

∴ [–16 + 4] + 3 = –9