Inverse Property of Addition

Use the Inverse Properties of Addition and Multiplication

What number added to 5 gives the additive identity, 0?
5+ \text{_______} =0
We know 5+(-5)=0
What number added to −6 gives the additive identity, 0?
−6+ \text{_______} =0
We know -6+6=0


Notice that in each case, the missing number was the opposite of the number.

We call -a the additive inverse of a . The opposite of a number is its additive inverse. A number and its opposite add to 0 , which is the additive identity.


Source: Rice University, https://openstax.org/books/prealgebra/pages/7-4-properties-of-identity-inverses-and-zero
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