Question

Fill in the blanks to make the statement true: $(-5)+(-8)=(-8)+(\_\_\_\_\_\_)$.

Answer 1

Compute the required number:

Suppose that $x$ is the missing number.

That is

$$\begin{gathered} (–5)+(–8)=(–8)+\left(x\right) \\ –5–8=–8+x \\ –13=–8+x \end{gathered}$$

$$\begin{gathered} x=-13+8 \\ x=-5 \end{gathered}$$

Hence, the required statement is $(-5)+(-8)=(-8)+\left(\underline{-5}\right)$.