Background Tutorials

• Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values (e.g., temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, credits/debits, positive/negative electric charge); use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.

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    What are Positive and Negative Numbers?

    Positive and negative numbers (and zero!) are the building blocks of math. This tutorial will introduce you to positive and negative numbers and show you their location on a number line. Plus, learn a special thing about the number zero!

• Recognize opposite signs of numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line; recognize that the opposite of the opposite of a number is the number itself, e.g., -(-3) = 3, and that 0 is its own opposite.

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    What is the Number Line?

    A number line is a way we can visually represent numbers. This tutorial gives you a great introduction to the number line and shows you how to graph numbers on the number line in order to compare them. Check it out!

• Interpret statements of inequality as statements about the relative position of two numbers on a number line diagram.

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    How Do You Compare Integers Using a Number Line?

    Trying to figure out if a negative number is larger than another can be a little tricky. To make things easier, you could use a number line! This tutorial shows you how to use a number line to compare two negative numbers and determine which is larger.

• Understand the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from 0 on the number line; interpret absolute value as magnitude for a positive or negative quantity in a real-world situation.

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    What Does Absolute Value Mean?

    In this tutorial you'll see how you can think of absolute value in a very intuitive way. Let us know if you have any questions about it!