Lesson 12 Introduction

MGSE 6.NS.5
MGSE 6.NS.6a
MGSE 6.NS.6c
Understand Positive and Negative Numbers

Think It Through

What are positive and negative numbers?

Positive numbers are greater than 0 and located to the right of 0 on a number line.
Negative numbers are less than 0 and located to the left of 0 on a number line. The
number zero is neither positive nor negative.

Negative Zero Positive

–5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Positive and negative numbers are sometimes called signed numbers.

a. Positive numbers can be written with or without a plus sign.
b. Negative numbers are always written with a negative sign.

When solving problems with positive and negative numbers, it is important to think
about how far from 0 the number is and in what direction.

Think A thermometer shows positive and n

­ egative numbers.

Temperatures above 0 are positive.

Temperatures below 0 are negative. Circle the negative
°F °C
numbers labeled on
Look at the thermometer. 120 50
the thermometer.
40
20°F is 20 degrees above 0°F. 100
30
220°F is 20 degrees below 0°F. 80
20
60
230°C is 30 degrees below 0°C. 10
40
30°C is 30 degrees above 0°C. 0
20
–10
0 –20
–20 –30
–40 –40

114 Lesson 12 Understand Positive and Negative Numbers ©Curriculum Associates, LLC Copying is not permitted.
Think Every positive and negative number has an opposite.

Numbers that are the same distance from zero but in opposite directions
are called opposite numbers. Every whole number, fraction, and decimal
has an opposite.

The opposite of 4 is 24. Both numbers are the same distance The number line shows
from 0. To plot a point at 4, count 4 units to the right of 0 and that zero is its own
draw a point. To plot a point at 24, count 4 units to the left of 0 opposite.
and draw a point.

–8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Think about folding the number line in half so that the fold goes through 0. Numbers
that line up are opposites.
All the whole numbers and their opposites are called integers. All of the numbers
labeled on the number line above are integers:
28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23, 22, 21, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Reflect
1 Think about the numbers 210 and 10. How could you describe these numbers? What
is the same and what is different about these numbers?

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Lesson 12 Guided Instruction

Think About Identifying Positive and Negative Numbers

Let’s Explore the Idea A number line can help you

understand positive and negative numbers.

Jana and a friend are playing a game that shows a number line from 27 to 7. The game is
played with 15 cards numbered with the integers from 27 to 7. Players draw a card from
a pile. They earn points for correctly locating the number on the card on the number line
and then identifying its opposite.

–7 –4 0 3 6 7

2 Finish labeling the number line.

3 Suppose Jana draws a card that shows 23. Draw a point at 23 on the number line.

4 What number is the opposite of 23?    . Explain your reasoning.

5 Jana’s friend draws a card that shows a 0. Draw a point at 0. What is the opposite of 0?

    Explain. 

6 The next card drawn is 26. How far from 0 is 26?        In which direction?

          Draw a point at 26.

7 What number is the same distance from 0 as 26 but in the other direction?

8 Two numbers that are the same distance from 0 but on different sides of zero are

called                     numbers.

Now try this problem.

9 Graph each integer and its opposite on the number line below.

   5   21   4   22  

–8 –7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Let’s Talk About It
Solve the problems below as a group.

10 Look at the number lines on the previous page. There are numbers between the
numbers you graphed. Just as whole numbers can be positive or negative, fractions
and decimals can also be positive and negative.

The number 1.5 is between 1 and 2. The number 21.5 is between 22 and 21.
Draw a point at 1.5 and a point at 21.5 on the number line below. Label each point
with its value.

–4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4

11 How is locating 21.5 on a number line the same as locating 1.5 on a number line?

How is it different?

12 Use the number line below to graph the following numbers. Label each point with its
value. Then graph and label the opposite of each number.
1 ​   21​  1 ​   2 ​  ​ 1
   1​  ··
2
··
2 ··
4

–2 –1 0 1 2

Try It Another Way Work with your group to explore writing positive and
negative numbers to represent a situation.
13 Write a positive or a negative number to represent each situation.

a. you owe $25

b. a team has a gain of 20 yards in a football game
c. two floors below ground level
d. 15 degrees above 0°C
e. a stock price fell 4.26 points

©Curriculum Associates, LLC Copying is not permitted. Lesson 12 Understand Positive and Negative Numbers 117
Lesson 12 Guided Practice

Connect Identifying Positive and Negative Numbers

Talk through these problems as a class, then write your answers below.

14 Conclude What number is the opposite of the opposite of 5? What can you say
about the opposite of the opposite of a number?

15 Interpret Positive and negative numbers can show an amount above or below
zero. They can also be used to show an amount above or below a certain point.
Students at Taft Middle School have a goal of collecting 1,000 pounds of recycling
materials each month. The following table shows their results over a 6-month time
period. Complete the table. The first month is done for you.

Month Pounds Collected Compared to 1,000

January 985 215 ←15 less than 1,000

February 1,010
March 995
April 1,050
May 975
June 980

16 Analyze Look at the number line below. The letters a, b, c, and d all
represent integers.

a c 0 b d

Part A Which letters represent negative integers?      How do you know?

Part B Which letters represent positive integers?      How do you know?

Part C If b and c are the same distance from 0, how can you describe them?

118 Lesson 12 Understand Positive and Negative Numbers ©Curriculum Associates, LLC Copying is not permitted.
Lesson 12 Independent Practice

Apply Identifying Positive and Negative Numbers

17 Put It Together Use what you have learned to complete this task.
Write a problem about a real-life situation involving temperature or money. The
situation should include a number and its opposite that results in an answer of zero.

Part A Write your problem.

Part B Graph the numbers you used in your problem on a number line.

Part C Explain what zero means in this situation.

Part D What can you say about the sum of a number and its opposite?

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