An object is acted upon by a force of 22 newtons from the right and a force of 13 newtons from the left. what is the magnitude and direction of the net force?

Net force=sum of forces. Lets take the Force acting from right side_as positive. And the Force acting from left side_as negative. We took the opposite sides because the both forces are acting in opposite directions. There will be no problem,if for differentiating,I call the positive force_F1 and the negative one_F2...right? So, Net force=F1+F2. F2 is opposite as compared to F1 in direction. So Net force=F1+(-F2). Putting values; Net force=22-13=9 N. 9 N is the magnitude of Force. If your question means that this net force acts whether to the right side or left,then it acts towards the right side as it has also come out to be positive 9N not -9N which indicates it is parallel to the Force vector acting rightward.

The net force is the sum of all the forces acted upon an object. The direction of force depends on which side you are taking as a positive and negative force. If the force of 22 newtons is positive and the force of 13 newtons is negative, they are actng on the object on different directions, thus in order to get the net force, we just sum them up.
newtons

The net force is +9 Newtons.