Question 9
Lucky Larry’s teacher asked him to substitute numbers for $a,$ $b,$ $c,$ $d,$ and $e$ in the expression $$
a-(b-(c-(d+e)))
$$ and evaluate the result. Larry ignored the parentheses but added and subtracted correctly and obtained the correct result by coincidence. The numbers Larry substituted for $a,$ $b,$ $c,$ and $d$ were $1,$ $2,$ $3,$ and $4,$ respectively. What number did Larry substitute for $e?$
a-(b-(c-(d+e)))
$$ and evaluate the result. Larry ignored the parentheses but added and subtracted correctly and obtained the correct result by coincidence. The numbers Larry substituted for $a,$ $b,$ $c,$ and $d$ were $1,$ $2,$ $3,$ and $4,$ respectively. What number did Larry substitute for $e?$