Aaron claims the same answer could also be found by adding either -5 + 3 or -3 + 5.

What is the error in Aaron's reasoning?
A. The associative property was used.
B. The commutative property is not true for addition.
C. The negative signs were switched.
D. The numbers are not in the correct order.

1 answer

Aaron's reasoning contains an error in how he interprets the operations involving negative numbers. Let's analyze the expressions he provided:

  • When we calculate \(-5 + 3\), it equals \(-2\) because we can think of it as moving 5 units left on the number line and then 3 units right, resulting in a position at -2.
  • When we calculate \(-3 + 5\), it equals \(2\) since we are moving 3 units left and then 5 units right, resulting in a position at 2.

The two expressions yield different results:

  • \(-5 + 3 = -2\)
  • \(-3 + 5 = 2\)

Thus, the statement that the same answer can be found from both expressions is incorrect.

The correct answer regarding the error in Aaron's reasoning is not about the associative property or the order of numbers specifically. The relevant error is in the claim that the expressions are equivalent or yield the same result, which points to the issue in understanding how the negative signs affect the arithmetic.

Therefore, the best answer is: D. The numbers are not in the correct order.