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Question

Explore subtraction with a positive number and a negative number:
5 - (-2)
- Bring out a group of 5 positive integer tiles.
- Bring out zero pairs until there are 2 negative tiles.
- Take 2 negative tiles away.
5 - (-2) = _

Answer 1

To solve the expression \( 5 - (-2) \), we can break it down step by step using the positive and negative integer tiles as described.

1. Start with 5 positive tiles: Represent this with 5 tiles (let's call them \( +1 \) tiles).

2. Bring out zero pairs: For every negative tile brought out, we add a positive tile to create a zero pair. Since we need to bring out 2 negative tiles, we also need to add 2 positive tiles to make them into zero pairs. So now we have:

   • 5 positive tiles (from the initial group)
   • +2 positive tiles (to pair with the 2 negative tiles)

   This gives a total of \( 5 + 2 = 7 \) positive tiles.

3. Remove 2 negative tiles: Now, when we take away the 2 negative tiles from our setup, we are effectively still left with those 7 positive tiles.

Thus, we find that: \[ 5 - (-2) = 7 \]

So, the final answer is: \[ 5 - (-2) = 7 \]