Kavya's prepaid electricity meter shows a balance of −85 rupees, meaning she owes that much. She then recharges it with 300 rupees. What does the meter show after the recharge?

When two integers have **different signs**, subtract the smaller absolute value from the larger one and keep the sign of the larger absolute value. So 7 + (−3) = 4 (|7| > |−3|, so the answer is positive 4), and (−7) + 3 = −4 (|−7| > |3|, so the answer is negative 4). On the number line: a positive number moves right, a negative number moves left — they partially cancel.