Use additive inverse to find -492.89 - (-871.78).

Answer 1

To use the additive inverse to find \(-492.89 - (-871.78)\), we can rewrite the expression:

\[ -492.89 - (-871.78) = -492.89 + 871.78 \]

Next, we can perform the addition:

\[ -492.89 + 871.78 \]

To do this, we can convert \(-492.89\) to a positive number and then perform the subtraction:

\[ 871.78 - 492.89 \]

Now, let's calculate that step:

1. Align the numbers by decimal:

  871.78
- 492.89

2. Subtract from right to left:

   • In the hundredths place: 8 - 9 requires borrowing:

     • 7 becomes 6, and we take 1 from the tenths (making it 1)
     • So, 18 - 9 = 9

   • In the tenths place: 1 (after borrowing) - 8 needs borrowing:

     • 6 becomes 5, and we take 1 from the ones (making it 7)
     • So, 11 - 8 = 3

   • In the ones place: 7 - 2 = 5

   • In the tens place: 5 - 9 requires borrowing:

     • 8 becomes 7, and we take 1 from the hundreds (making it 7)
     • So, 15 - 9 = 6

   • In the hundreds place: 7 - 4 = 3

Putting it all together, we have:

  871.78
- 492.89
---------
  378.89

So, the final result is:

\[ -492.89 - (-871.78) = 378.89 \]

Therefore, \(-492.89 - (-871.78) = 378.89\).