How should the number "-3" be read?

3 Comments

  • Praveen Kumar - 8 years ago

    Hi!
    Though I had voted for both are correct but I totally agree with Gerry's comment. :)

  • Paul - 8 years ago

    Thanks Gerry. Very interesting comments. Paul

  • Gerry Rising - 8 years ago

    This is a useful question because there are times when -3 does have only one acceptable form. In a polynomial it should be read as minus 3. For example x - 3 is NOT read "x negative 3." For that reason insisting on reading -3, when it stands alone, as "negative 3" can cause problems for students (and many teachers as well). All this derives from the fact that the minus sign has three roles: operation, inverse and subtraction.

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