Determining Absolute Value and Opposites
You will learn how to find the opposite of a number and what the absolute value of a number is.
Number Line
A line with numbers placed in their correct position. Useful for addition and subtraction, and for showing relations between numbers. Negative Number
Numbers to the left of the zero on the number line.
Less than zero. (Positive means more than zero. Zero is neither negative nor positive.) A negative number is written with a minus sign in front Example: -5 is negative five. Zero
Point of origin on a number line.
The whole number between -1 and 1, with the symbol 0 Shows that there is no amount. Example: 6 - 6 = 0 (the difference between six and six is zero) Useful as a "place-holder" so that you can write a numeral properly. Example: 502 (five hundred and two) could be mistaken for 52 (fifty two) without the zero in the tens place. Positive Number
Numbers to the right of the zero on a number line.
If a number has no sign it usually means that it is a positive number. Greater than zero. (Negative means less than zero. Zero is neither negative nor positive.) Example: 5 is positive five. Opposite
A number that is the same distance from zero on the other side.
Absolute Number
How far a number is from zero.
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. The symbol "|" is placed either side to mean "Absolute Value", so we can write: |-6| = 6 A thermometer is a vertical number line.
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