Answer:
-1
Step-by-step explanation:
It is always negative, because it keeps going down on the number line. Say it is negative 8 minus 5, it would be negative 13, because it adds to the negatives, so it would go deeper into the negatives.
There would be 12 people at the party!
In general, with n+1 people, the number of handshakes is the sum of the first n consecutive numbers: 1+2+3+ ... + n.
Since this sum is n(n+1)/2, we need to solve the equation n(n+1)/2 = 66.
This is the quadratic equation n2+ n -132 = 0. Solving for n, we obtain 11 as the answer and deduce that there were 12 people at the party.
Since 66 is a relatively small number, you can also solve this problem with a hand calculator. Add 1 + 2 = + 3 = +... etc. until the total is 66. The last number that you entered (11) is n.
Hope this helps!
