Negative numbers in context
Interpret negative numbers in context (temperature, sea level, bank balance); count forwards and backwards with positive and negative whole numbers, including through zero
What a learner can do afterwards
- Place –3, –1, 0, 2, 5 on a number line
- The temperature is –4°C and rises by 7 degrees — what is the new temperature?
- Count backwards from 3 in ones: 3, 2, 1, 0, –1, –2
The lesson
You already know negative numbers are less than zero. In real life you see them all the time: a cold thermometer reading, a depth below sea level, or money owed in a bank account. Each of these uses negative numbers to show 'less than nothing' or 'below the starting point'.
It is -4 degrees C outside. The temperature rises by 7 degrees. Start at -4 and count up 7 steps: -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3. The new temperature is 3 degrees C.
When you count through zero, do not skip it. Counting backwards from 3 goes 3, 2, 1, 0, -1, -2. Zero sits right between the positive and negative numbers.
Negative numbers show cold, low, or owed, and you count through zero one step at a time, forwards or backwards.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.