4. For example…
You could say that messy is the inverse
of a clean (they are opposites and
“undo” each other).
5. In math, we say that…
• Addition is the inverse of subtraction
• Subtraction is the inverse of addition
Because these two operations “undo”
each other
11. So...
6–4=2
GREAT!
Watch what happens when I switch
the “-” and the “=” signs and make
the “-” a “+”
6=4+2
12. = +
6 4 2
6=4+2
you can also write it like this…
4+2=6 OR 2+4=6
13. Let’s try that again!
(+)
5–3=2
--Switch the signs around--
5=3+2
You could also write it like this…
3+2=5
OR
2+3=5
14. Let’s try that one more time!
This time we are going to start with addition
5+4=9
4+5=9
--Switch the signs--
(remember, when doing subtraction you ALWAYS start with the bigger number)
9–4=5
OR
9–5=4
15. Here are some more examples of the
inverse at work…
9 + 1 = 10 10 – 1 = 9
1 + 9 = 10 10 – 9 = 1
2+2=4 4–2=2
6 + 4 = 10 10 – 4 = 6
4 + 6 = 10 10 – 6 = 4
16. So…what is the inverse?
The inverse is what undoes the first
equation
Addition can undo subtraction and
subtraction can undo addition