Negative Number Line and Absolute Value

Ordering Values & Absolute Value

Words to Know:

• Descending/Decreasing order- numbers will be in order from biggest to smallest (going DOWN)

• Ascending/Increasing order- numbers will be in order from smallest to biggest (going UP)

• Gain/Credit/Profit- represented by a positive number; for example a gain of 5 yards would be +5

• Loss/Debt- represented by a negative number; for example a loss of $9 would be -$9

• Altitude/Elevation- refer to something's height above or below sea level (above is + and below is - )

• Absolute Value-a number's distance from zero; will always be a positive number

Multiple Select

Which word(s) can mean that numbers are going to be in order from biggest to smallest? Check all that apply.

• increasing

• decreasing

• ascending

• descending

• elevation

Multiple Choice

The distance that a number is from zero on a number line is the definition for which word?

• ascending

• elevation

• absolute value

• altitude

Ordering Values

Temperature Example:

Put these temperatures in ascending order...

-5^o, -10^o, 3^o, and -3^o

Remember that ascending order means that the numbers should be going UP or listed from smallest to biggest.

Temperature Example:

The temperatures were -5, -10, 3, and -3.

When you compare negative numbers, you need to think about the opposite of positive numbers. The biggest negative number is actually going to have the smallest value.

The -10 is going to be the smallest number. Then the next smallest will be -5 and then -3. The closer you get to zero with negative numbers, the greater the value of the negative number.

So, the numbers in ascending order will be -10, -5, -3 and 3.

Multiple Choice

Which of these numbers has the lowest value?

• -9

• -14

• -6

• -1

Multiple Select

Which of the following sets of numbers are in the correct descending order? Choose all that are correct.

• 0, -4, -7, -10

• -2, 0, 3, 9

• -8, -5, 0, 2

• 6, 2, -1, -5

• -3, -10, -12, -20

Absolute Value

The absolute value of a number is its value without the sign. The symbol for absolute value is the number inside of two straight lines as seen below.

For example, |+3| = 3 and |-3| = 3. Both numbers are 3 spaces away from zero on a number line.

Remember that absolute value is always going to be the positive value of the number.

Multiple Choice

What is

$$\left|-4.7\right|$$  ?

• 4.7

• -4.7

• +4.7

Multiple Select

Which numbers are 9 spaces away from zero on the number line? Choose all that apply.

• 0

• 9

• 10

• -9

• -10