Subtract positive and negative whole numbers

Answer Key - Grade 7 Math Worksheet

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

2. 1.

   Luz rings a bell for a bonus question. What is 17 - (-8)?

   25
3. 2.

   Milo draws a challenge card from the jar. What is (-12) - (-20)?

   Use the picture in question 1.

   8
5. 3.

   Pia rewrites a subtraction from the math book as an addition: (-9) - (-16) = (-9) + ?. What number goes in place of the ?

   16
6. 4.

   Ren rewrites a star-card problem as an addition: 12 - (-7) = 12 + ?. What number goes in place of the ?

   Use the picture in question 3.

   7
7. 5.

   Monday's low was -15°F and Tuesday's low was -4°F, a two-scarf kind of week for Luz. How many degrees colder was Monday's low than Tuesday's?

   11
8. 6.

   Noah's tent is at -12 m and a desert trail starts at -30 m (below sea level is negative). How far is the tent from the trail start?

   18
9. 7.

   Ren's sled stops 14 m up a snowy hill. The top is 36 m up. How far is the sled from the top?

   22
10. 8.

    The distance between two numbers is the absolute value of their difference. Tala wants the distance between -6 and 9. What is |(-6) - 9|?

    15
11. 9.

    Ari checks a distance on the number line with absolute value. What is |(-14) - (-3)|, the distance between -14 and -3?

    11
12. 10.

    Bo rings a bell for the next distance question. What is |5 - 23|, the distance between 5 and 23?

    18