Math

Forgetting Negative Signs in Multi-Step Problems

Students drop a minus sign while distributing, combining like terms, or moving terms across an equation.

Quick check

Why students make it

A negative sign can feel like it belongs only to the number right after it, so students stop tracking it after the first step. In multi-step work, each rewrite creates another chance to copy the sign incorrectly.

The rule done right

Treat a minus sign as part of the term until an operation changes it. When distributing, multiply the sign too, so −3(x−4)=−3x+12-3(x - 4) = -3x + 12.

Related resources

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