Number Line
Writing numbers down on a Number Line makes it easy to tell
which numbers are bigger or smaller.
The Number Line
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| Negative Numbers (-) | Positive Numbers (+) |
| (The line continues left and right forever.) | |
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Numbers on the left are smaller than numbers on the right. Examples:
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Try this interactive number line (click to mark):
| View Larger |
You can also try the zoomable number line.
An Example
Example: John owes $3, Virginia owes $5 but Alex doesn't owe anything, in fact he has $3 in his pocket. Place these people on the number line to find who is poorest and who is richest.
| Having money in your pocket is positive. But owing money is negative. So John has "-3", Virginia "-5" and Alex "+3" |
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| Now it is easy to see that Virginia is poorer than John (-5 is less than -3) and John is poorer than Alex (-3 is smaller than 3), and Alex is, of course, the richest! | |
Using The Number Line
Read How to Use the Number Line to Add and Subtract.
Absolute Value
Absolute Value means to think only about how far a number is from zero.
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For example "6" is 6 away from zero, but "-6" is also 6 away from zero. So the absolute value of 6 is 6, and the absolute value of -6 is also 6 |