To find the distance between two bicyclists who are moving in opposite directions, you would calculate how far each one has traveled and then subtract the two distances.

true or false

Question

To find the distance between two bicyclists who are moving in opposite directions, you would calculate how far each one has traveled and then subtract the two distances.

true or false

anonymous · Answer

Imagine the cyclists moving in opposite directions on a number line.  If they start at 10 and I want to know the distance between them when they get to 5 and 13, then I will need to subtract 13 - 5 = 8.
Adding makes little sense, 13 + 5 = 18?  Just doesn't work.