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The plus sign (+) and the minus sign (−) are mathematical symbols used to denote positive and negative functions, respectively. In addition, + represents the operation of addition , which results in a sum , while − represents subtraction , resulting in a difference . [ 1 ]
Subtraction of natural numbers is not closed: the difference is not a natural number unless the minuend is greater than or equal to the subtrahend. For example, 26 cannot be subtracted from 11 to give a natural number. Such a case uses one of two approaches: Conclude that 26 cannot be subtracted from 11; subtraction becomes a partial function.
1. Denotes subtraction and is read as minus; for example, 3 – 2. 2. Denotes the additive inverse and is read as minus, the negative of, or the opposite of; for example, –2. 3. Also used in place of \ for denoting the set-theoretic complement; see \ in § Set theory. × (multiplication sign) 1.
The plus–minus sign, ±, is used as a shorthand notation for two expressions written as one, representing one expression with a plus sign, the other with a minus sign. For example, y = x ± 1 represents the two equations y = x + 1 and y = x − 1. Sometimes, it is used for denoting a positive-or-negative term such as ±x.
When a minus sign is used in between two numbers, it represents the binary operation of subtraction. When a minus sign is written before a single number, it represents the unary operation of yielding the additive inverse (sometimes called negation) of the operand. Abstractly then, the difference of two number is the sum of the minuend with the ...
It is represented using the minus sign (). The minus sign is also used to notate negative numbers. [10] Subtraction is not commutative, which means that the order of the numbers can change the final value; is not the same as . In elementary arithmetic, the minuend is always larger than the subtrahend to produce a positive result.
For example, subtraction is the inverse of addition since a number returns to its original value if a second number is first added and subsequently subtracted, as in + =. Defined more formally, the operation " ⋆ {\displaystyle \star } " is an inverse of the operation " ∘ {\displaystyle \circ } " if it fulfills the following condition: t ⋆ ...
For example, − (−3) = 3 because the opposite of an opposite is the original value. Negative numbers are usually written with a minus sign in front. For example, −3 represents a negative quantity with a magnitude of three, and is pronounced "minus three" or "negative three".