your equation is the following: 11 7/7 - (-8 3/7) the first step to solving this is to know that when there is a "-" sign in front of the parenthesis, you need to change the sign of each term in the parenthesis. 11 7/7 + 8 3/7 now, add the whole numbers and the fractional parts of the mixed numbers separately. (11 + 8) + ([tex] \frac{7}{7} + \frac{3}{7} [/tex]) add the whole numbers together 19 + ([tex] \frac{7}{7} + \frac{3}{7} [/tex]) now add the fractions together 19 + 10/7 next, convert the improper fraction to a mixed number 19 + 1 3/7 now, you will write the mixed number as a sum of the whole number and its fractional part. 19 + 1 + 3/7 add the numbers together 20 + 3/7 finally, write the sum of the whole number and the fraction as a mixed number 20[tex] \frac{3}{7} [/tex] let me know if you have any further questions :)