NEGATIVE NUMBERS

EXTENDING NUMBER LINES

 POSITIVE NUMBERS
• WE’VE SEEN POSITIVE NUMBERS ON A NUMBER LINE
• THE NUMBER LINE STARTS AT ZERO
• TICK MARKS ARE EVENLY SPACED APART ALONG THE LINE
• YOU MAY NUMBER THE TICK MARKS AS YOU PLEASE AS LONG AS THE
DIFFERENCE REMAINS THE SAME BETWEEN ALL PAIRS OF
CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS

 1  1  3
0 .25
14
5 .50
10
22 .75
15
34 41
20
 NEGATIVE NUMBERS
• ZERO IS THE ONLY NUMBER THAT IS NEITHER POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE
• NEGATIVE NUMBERS ARE NUMBERS THAT ARE SMALLER THAN ZERO
• THEY ARE PRECEDED BY A MINUS SIGN TO DISTINGUISH THEM FROM
POSITIVE NUMBERS
• SO HOW DO WE ADD NEGATIVE NUMBERS TO A NUMBER LINE THAT
ONLY CONSISTS OF ZERO AND THE POSITIVE NUMBERS?

0 1 2 3 4
 SYMMETRY
• WE WILL USE LINE SYMMETRY TO SHOW HOW YOU CAN EXTEND A NUMBER
LINE TO INCLUDE NEGATIVE NUMBERS
• A LINE OF SYMMETRY REFLECTS THE MIRROR IMAGE OF AN ITEM ON ONE SIDE
OF THE LINE TO THE OTHER SIDE SUCH THAT ALL MATCHING PARTS OF BOTH
ITEMS ARE EQUIDISTANT FROM THAT LINE
• IF THIS SLIDE WERE A PIECE OF PAPER AND YOU FOLDED IT AT THE LINE OF
SYMMETRY, THE TWO CONES WOULD FALL ON TOP OF EACH OTHER AS A
PERFECT MATCH. WE’D SAY THAT THE TWO CONES ARE SYMMETRIC
 EXTENDING WITH SYMMETRY
• LET’S FIRST PLACE A LINE OF SYMMETRY THROUGH THE ZERO MARK
ON THE NUMBER LINE
• NEXT REFLECT THE NUMBER LINE ACROSS THE LINE OF SYMMETRY TO
CREATE A MIRROR IMAGE OF IT ON THE OTHER SIDE
• TO NUMBER CORRECTLY, IMAGINE FOLDING AT THE LINE OF
SYMMETRY AND LOCATING WHERE EACH NUMBER WOULD FALL
• PLACE A MINUS SIGN IN FRONT OF EACH NUMBER TO INDICATE THAT
THEY ARE NEGATIVE NUMBERS

-44 -33 -22 -11 0 1 2 3 4

 OPPOSITES
• FOR EVERY POSITIVE NUMBER, THERE EXISTS A NEGATIVE NUMBER
THAT IS LOCATED THE SAME DISTANCE FROM ZERO ON A NUMBER
LINE
• WE CALL THESE PAIRS OF NUMBERS OPPOSITES
• FOR INSTANCE, 3 & -3 ARE OPPOSITES
• THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME DISTANCE AWAY FROM ZERO

-44 -33 -22 -11 0 1 2 3 4

 MORE ON OPPOSITES
• THE OPPOSITE OF A POSITIVE NUMBER IS ALWAYS NEGATIVE AND THE
OPPOSITE OF A NEGATIVE NUMBER IS ALWAYS POSITIVE
• FOR EXAMPLE:
• THE OPPOSITE OF 27 IS -27
• THE OPPOSITE OF -13 IS 13
• THE OPPOSITE OF THE OPPOSITE OF A NUMBER IS ALWAYS THAT
NUMBER (THINK THIS OUT CAREFULLY)
• FOR EXAMPLE:
• THE OPPOSITE OF THE OPPOSITE OF 9 IS 9
• THE OPPOSITE OF THE OPPOSITE OF -61 IS -61
 VERTICAL NUMBER LINES 4

3
• NOT ONLY ARE THERE HORIZONTAL NUMBER LINES, BUT 2
THERE ARE VERTICAL NUMBER LINES AS WELL
1
• USE WHICH EVER ONE WORKS BEST FOR YOUR NEEDS
• WITH HORIZONTAL NUMBER LINES, THE NUMBERS GET 0

LARGER AS YOU GO FROM LEFT TO RIGHT -1

• WITH VERTICAL NUMBER LINES, THE NUMBERS GET LARGER
-2
AS YOU GO FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP
-3

-4
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
 WHAT’S AHEAD? 4

3
• YOU HAVE SEEN BOTH
HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL 2
NUMBER LINES IN THIS
1
PRESENTATION
• IN THE FUTURE YOU WILL -4 -3 -2 -1 0
0
1 2 3 4
ENCOUNTER THE -1
INTERSECTION OF THESE
NUMBER LINES WHICH -2

FORM WHAT IS CALLED THE -3

COORDINATE PLANE
-4
 SUMMARY
• A POSITIVE NUMBER LINE CAN BE EXTENDED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION
TO INCLUDE NEGATIVE NUMBERS
• JUST MAKE A MIRROR IMAGE OF THE POSITIVE NUMBER LINE ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF ZERO AND REMEMBER TO PLACE A MINUS SIGN IN FRONT
OF THE NEGATIVE NUMBERS
• FOR EVERY POSITIVE NUMBER, THERE IS AN OPPOSITE NEGATIVE NUMBER
WHICH IS LOCATED THE SAME DISTANCE FROM ZERO ON THE OTHER SIDE
• THE OPPOSITE OF ANY POSITIVE NUMBER WILL BE NEGATIVE AND THE
OPPOSITE OF ANY NEGATIVE NUMBER WILL BE POSITIVE
• THE OPPOSITE OF THE OPPOSITE OF ANY NUMBER IS THAT NUMBER
• NUMBER LINES CAN BE EITHER HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL