Write a real world description to fit the expression -50÷5

Answer 1

Negative numbers are interesting with real world applications. People don't always think in negative numbers, but they're very useful when calculating things on computers. Many computer systems will process things as adding negative numbers, whereas we think of it as subtracting positive ones. A common example is how computers track bank account balances; when we withdraw money from a bank account, it shows up as a negative transaction on our account. We may think of it as money coming out of the account, but the computer simply treats it as adding a negative value to your balance. (Which mathematically is the same as subtracting a positive one.)

Say that you and four friends went out to eat, or went shopping if you prefer. When you're done, you all agree to split the bill. The cashier charges the total split five ways between each of your debit cards. To find out the transaction amount sent to your account, you divide -50 by 5.

Answer 2

Hello!

Suppose that traveling north means we are going in a positive direction, and traveling south means we are going in a negative direction. Now, let's travel a total of 50 miles south. Also, we want to make five pit stops during our trip. Then we could use -50 / 5 to count the average number of miles we drive between pit stops. Our answer is an average of -10 miles. The negative indicates that we are traveling south.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best wishes!