Find the sum 5.5+7.25-5.5+(-7.25)

Find the sum 5.5+7.25-5.5+(-7.25)

The Correct Answer and Explanation is :

To find the sum of (5.5 + 7.25 – 5.5 + (-7.25)):

1. Group the positive and negative terms:

• Positive terms: (5.5 + 7.25)
• Negative terms: (-5.5) and (-7.25)

1. Add the positive terms together:
   [
   5.5 + 7.25 = 12.75
   ]
2. Add the negative terms together:
   [
   -5.5 + (-7.25) = -12.75
   ]
3. Combine the results:
   [
   12.75 + (-12.75) = 0
   ]

Therefore, the answer is 0.

Explanation

In math, adding and subtracting numbers is a way to combine quantities. Here, we have four numbers that we are adding together, but two of them are positive and two are negative. Positive and negative numbers have opposite effects. Positive numbers increase the total, while negative numbers decrease it. When you add a positive and a negative number of equal magnitude, they “cancel” each other out.

1. Combining positive terms: First, we added (5.5) and (7.25), which gave us (12.75). Adding two positive numbers is straightforward: they simply add up to a larger positive value.
2. Combining negative terms: Next, we added (-5.5) and (-7.25). When you add two negative numbers, the result is a more negative number. The negative sign tells us these values will reduce the total, which led us to (-12.75).
3. Combining positive and negative results: Finally, we added (12.75) and (-12.75), which resulted in zero. Since they’re equal in magnitude but opposite in sign, they cancel each other out, resulting in zero.

This example shows how combining numbers with opposite signs can balance each other out, which is why the final answer is zero.