Answer
$-6$
Work Step by Step
We start with the given expression: $5-11$
First, we will convert this to an addition problem, using the definition of subtraction: $5+(-11)$
We can find the sum of a positive and a negative integer by subtracting the smaller absolute value from the larger absolute value and giving the result the sign of the original number that has the larger absolute value.
Since $|-11|>|5|$, we can subtract $5$ from $11$, giving us $6$. Since the large number was originally negative, we give our result the negative sign: $-6$