Inverse Property of Addition

Read this section on the properties of identity, inverses, and zero. Complete the practice questions and check your answers.

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
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.