Signs in an equation

[Greenmolly1]

Hello, and thank you so much for reading this! Is this statement true or false? The sign in an equation (+,-) belongs to the letter or number following the sign.

Molly

 

[Bob Brown MSEE]

False sometimes

Hello, and thank you so much for reading this! Is this statement true or false? The sign in an equation (+,-) belongs to the letter or number following the sign.

Molly

1-(-1) False, True
1+(-1) True

Minus is confusing because it can be used 3 ways.
1) Number: Sign of a number (when writing numbers that are less than zero)
2) Unary Operator: To change sign of an evaluated expression (like +/- or CHS on a calculator)
3) Binary Operator: Subtraction (like - on a calculator)