Integers on a number line: a cold morning in Jumla
Start from a morning temperature, warm up or cool down, and watch each change hop along the number line, including past zero.
Core concept
In short: Hop along a number line: adding a plus number goes right, a minus number goes left.
Adding a positive number moves right on the number line; adding a negative number moves left
Topic: Integers
integer: A whole number that can be positive, negative or zero, like −3, 0 or 7. All key words are whole numbers that can be positive, negative or zero. On a number line, numbers to the right of 0 are positive and numbers to the left are negative. A thermometer is a number line standing up: in Jumla on a winter morning the temperature can be below 0 °C. When the temperature rises, we add a positive number and move right (up). When it falls, we add a negative number and move left (down). The number of steps we move is the size of the change.
What you will learn
- Show positive and negative integers on a number line.
- Add a positive or a negative integer by moving right or left.
- Explain what happens when a change crosses zero.
Before you start
- Count forwards and backwards in ones.
Materials
- A number line from −15 to 15
Equipment
- A thermometer marked in °C
Procedure
- Drag the morning marker to choose the starting temperature.
- Drag the end of the arrow (or tap + 1 and − 1) to choose the change.
- Record a warm-up that starts below zero and ends above zero.
- Record a temperature drop, a change that ends at exactly 0 °C, and a cold morning that gets colder.
How this simulation is simplified
- Temperatures are whole numbers of degrees Celsius.