SOLUTION: What is the correct order of operations to solve for (-5) -6 (-3)? My textbook is showing that the answer is 13 and I can't figure out how they got that. Thanks for your help!

Question 855469: What is the correct order of operations to solve for (-5) -6 (-3)?
My textbook is showing that the answer is 13 and I can't figure out how they got that.
Thanks for your help!
-Taylor
Found 2 solutions by Alan3354, KMST:
Answer by Alan3354(69443) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
(-5) -6 (-3)
= -5 + 18
= 13
Answer by KMST(5328) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The -5 at the beginning is in brackets, but those brackets do not change the meaning of the expression; it is just a waste of ink.
The -3 at the end is in brackets meaning that it is multiplied times the number before.
The -6 in the middle is not in brackets, so the minus sign in front of the 3 would mean that the product of 6 and (-3) is subtracted from the (-5).
(-5) -6 (-3) = (-5) - (-18) = (-5) + 18) = 18 - 5 = 13

If negative numbers seem new and confusing to you, they were not explained properly.
Negative numbers are very well known to people who live in cold places. (I used to live in a town where the temperature was when I headed to work some mornings).
Locations and trips are often given as North or South and that works just as positive and negative numbers.

If you go (or are located) 5 miles South from City Hall (-5),
and then move 18 miles North (add 18), you added (-5) + 18 = 13
and now are 13 miles North from City Hall.
If you need to go to a location 5 miles South from City Hall (-5),
and start from a location 18 miles South of City Hall (-18),
the distance (and direction) you have to go is given by the difference
(location you need to get to, minus location you are now):
(-5) - (-18) = 13 .
The difference is positive, meaning that you have to go 13 miles towards North.
You can think through your trips by yourself; you would not need to ask a math teacher to know that.
The only thing you need from a math teacher is the accepted meaning of words like "addition" , "subtraction" and "negative numbers".
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