Read this word problem.

Question

On a cold February morning, Colton checked the temperature on his phone and saw that it was
–
3°C. When he checked again after school, the temperature had dropped 3°C. What was the temperature after school?
To solve the problem, Ellen subtracted
–
3–(
–
3) and came up with an answer of 0°C. Is Ellen correct? Why or why not?

Answer 1

To solve the problem, we need to determine the new temperature after Colton's initial reading of –3°C and the subsequent drop of 3°C.

1. Start with the initial temperature: –3°C.
2. The temperature drops by 3°C, which means we will subtract 3 from –3.

So the calculation to determine the new temperature is: -3°C - 3°C = -6°C.

Ellen's approach seems to be an error because she subtracted –3 from –3 in her calculations rather than subtracting 3. This is incorrect because it does not accurately reflect the temperature drop.

Therefore, Ellen's answer of 0°C is not correct. The correct temperature after school is -6°C.