How would you work out 5-8?

1) Draw a number line. Put "zero" in the middle of the number line. So numbers on the right side of "zero" are positive numbers while numbers on the left side "zero" are negative numbers.

2) Find "5" on the number line.

3) If we add a number from "5", we should move towards RIGHT on the number line. Conversely, if we take away (minus) a number, we should move towards LEFT on the number line. So we move towards left for 8 spaces from "5", then it is -3. That is the final answer.