20 plus what equals 17?

This is how to calculate "20 plus what equals 17?" In other words, 20 plus a number equals 17. What is that number? We start by converting this word problem into an equation where "what" is what we want to solve:

20 + what = 17

To solve this equation, we first add -20 to each side of the equal sign like this:

20 - 20 + what = 17 - 20

Then, we do the calculation to get the answer to "20 plus what equals 17?" as follows:

What = -3

The answer to "20 plus what equals 17?" is -3. You know this answer is correct because 20 plus -3 equals 17.

Plus What Equals Calculator
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