1. The problem is to solve the expression $1 - 12$. 2. The formula used here is simple subtraction: $a - b = c$ where $a=1$ and $b=12$. 3. Subtracting 12 from 1 means moving 12 units to the left on the number line starting from 1. 4. Calculate: $$1 - 12 = -11$$ 5. The result is $-11$, which means the answer is 11 units less than zero on the number line. This is a straightforward subtraction problem with the answer $-11$.