Question

Use number properties to simplify the following expression.

-5 + (5 + 3)

In the box below, show each step in simplifying the expression and explain which property you used in each step.

Answer 1

We can simplify the expression -5 + (5 + 3) step by step, using number properties along the way.

**Step 1: Simplify the expression inside the parentheses.**
Expression: -5 + (5 + 3)
We first calculate the value of the expression inside the parentheses:
5 + 3 = 8
Using the **Addition Property of Numbers**, we can add the two numbers together.

**Step 2: Substitute the simplified value back into the expression.**
Expression: -5 + 8
Now the expression is simplified to -5 + 8.

**Step 3: Perform the addition.**
Expression: -5 + 8 = 3
Here, we have a negative and a positive number being added. We can think of this as moving 8 units in the positive direction starting from -5. The result yields 3. This can be also understood through the **Additive Inverse Property**, where adding a negative and a positive can be interpreted as effectively subtracting the smaller absolute value from the larger one.

**Final Result:**
Thus, -5 + (5 + 3) simplifies to 3.