Jane did this calculation a. Add -12 b.subtract -9 c. Add 8 d. Subtract -2 the result is -5. What wa

Jane did this calculation a. Add -12 b.subtract -9 c. Add 8 d. Subtract -2 the result is -5. What was the original number?

Let the original number be n.

1. Add -12: n - 12
2. Subtract -9: n - 12 - -9 = n - 12 + 9
3. Add 8: n - 12 + 9 + 8
4. Subtract - 2: n - 12 + 9 + 8 - -2 = n - 12 + 9 + 8 + 2
5. The result is -5. So we build the following equation:

n - 12 + 9 + 8 + 2 = -5

To solve this equation for n, we type it in our search engine and we get:
n = -12