The lower extension groups
For a certain full additive subcategory X of an additive category A, one defines the lower extension groups in relative homological algebra. We show that these groups are isomorphic to the suspended Hom groups in the Verdier quotient category of the bounded homotopy category of A by that of X. Alternatively, these groups are isomorphic to the negative cohomological groups of the Hom complexes in the dg quotient category A/X, where both A and X are viewed as dg categories concentrated in degree zero.