Chapter

Directed numbers

Topics Level Key words

Introduction to directed
1 FOUNDATION negative, positive, directed numbers
numbers

2 Everyday use of directed FOUNDATION profit, loss

numbers

3 The number line FOUNDATION number line, less than, more than, greater than

4 Adding and subtracting FOUNDATION

directed numbers

5 Multiplying and dividing FOUNDATION

directed numbers

What you need to be able to do in the examinations:

FOUNDATION

● Use directed numbers in practical situations.

● Understand and use integers (positive, negative and zero) both as positions and translations on a
number line.

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 Introduction to directed
4.1 numbers

Negative numbers are numbers below zero. You use negative numbers when the temperature
falls below freezing (0 °C).
The diagram below shows a thermometer with negative temperatures. The temperature is –3 °C.
This means the temperature is three degrees below zero.
°C

–15 –10 –5 0 5 10 15

The number line below shows positive and negative numbers.

–7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
negative positive

Positive and negative numbers together are called directed numbers.

EXERCISE 4A

Write down the temperature for each thermometer.

FOUNDATION

°C
a
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

°C
b
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

°C
c
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

°C
d
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

°C
e
–6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 a How much colder is it in

Edinburgh than in London?
b How much warmer is it in
Edinburgh –3 °C
London than in Cardiff?

London +8 °C
Cardiff –1 °C

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

FOUNDATION
3 The instructions on a bottle of de-icer say that it will stop water freezing at temperatures
down to –12 °C. The temperature is –4 °C.
How many more degrees does the temperature need to fall before the de-icer stops
working?

Everyday use of directed

4.2 numbers

There are many other situations where directed numbers are used. Here are three examples.
● When +15 m means 15 metres above sea level, then –15 m means 15 metres below sea level.
● When +2 h means 2 hours after midday, then –2 h means 2 hours before midday.
● When +$60 means a profit of $60, then –$60 means a loss of $60.

You also meet negative numbers on graphs, and you may already have plotted coordinates with
negative numbers.
On bank statements and bills a negative number means you owe money. A positive number
means they owe you money.

MEGA BANK PLC

“Your money is safe in our pockets”

Statement 1001
Date Description Paid out Paid in Balance

$89.75
14 Jan 2010 Water bill $158.62 … –$68.87
17 Jan 2010 Transfer … $80.00 $11.13 You owe
25 Jan 2010 Phone bill $33.94 … –$22.81 the bank
$22.81.

Money has been paid

into your account.

Money has been paid

out of your account.

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

EXERCISE 4B

Copy and complete each of the following.

FOUNDATION

1 If +$5 means a profit of five dollars, then …… means a loss of five dollars.

2 If +200 m means 200 metres above sea level, then …… means 200 metres below sea level.

3 If –100 m means one hundred metres below sea level, then +100 m means one hundred
metres …… sea level.

4 If +5 h means 5 hours after midday, then …… means 5 hours before midday.

5 If +2 °C means two degrees above freezing point, then …… means two degrees below
freezing point.

6 If +70 km means 70 kilometres north of the equator, then …… means 70 kilometres south
of the equator.

7 If 10 minutes before midnight is represented by –10 minutes, then five minutes after
midnight is represented by …… .

8 If a car moving forwards at 10 kilometres per hour is represented by +10 km/h, then a car
moving backwards at 5 kilometres per hour is represented by …… .

9 In an office building, the third floor above ground level is represented by +3. So, the second
floor below ground level is represented by …… .

10 The temperature on three days in Moscow was –7 °C, –5 °C and –11 °C.

a Which temperature is the lowest?

b What is the difference in temperature between the coldest and the warmest days?

11 A thermostat is set at 16 °C.

The temperature in a room at 1.00 am is –2 °C.

The temperature rises two degrees every 6 minutes.

At what time is the temperature on the thermostat reached?

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4.3 The number line

Look at the number line.

–7 –6 –5 –4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
negative positive

Notice that the negative numbers are to the left of 0 and the positive numbers are to the right of 0.
Numbers to the right of any number on the number line are always bigger than that number.
Numbers to the left of any number on the number line are always smaller than that number.
So, for example, you can see from a number line that:
2 is smaller than 5 because 2 is to the left of 5 on the number line.
You can write this as 2 < 5.
–3 is smaller than 2 because –3 is to the left of 2 on the number line.
You can write this as –3 < 2.
7 is bigger than 3 because 7 is to the right of 3 on the number line.
You can write this as 7 > 3.
–1 is bigger than –4 because –1 is to the right of –4 on the number line.
You can write this as –1 > –4.

Reminder: The inequality signs: The point of the sign

< means ‘is less than’ points towards the smaller
numbers.
> means ‘is greater than’ or ‘is more than’

EXERCISE 4C

1 Copy each of these and put the correct symbol (< or >) in each space.
a –1 …… 3 b 3 …… 2 c –4 …… –1 d –5 …… –4 FOUNDATION
e 1 …… –6 f –3 …… 0 g –2 …… –1 h 2 …… –3
i 5 …… –6 j 3 …… 4 k –7 …… –5 l –2 …… –4

2
3 1 1 1 1 3
–1 – – – 0 1
4 2 4 4 2 4

Copy each of these and put the correct symbol in each space.

a
1 …… 3 b – 1 …… 0 c – 3 …… 3
4 4 2 4 4

d
1 …… – 1 e –1 …… 3 f
1 …… 1
4 2 4 2

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

Copy these number lines and fill in the missing numbers.

FOUNDATION

a
–5 –2 0 1 3 5

b
–20 –10 0 5 15

c
–8 –4 0 2 6

d
–30 –10 0 10 20

4 Here are some temperatures.

2 °C –2 °C –4 °C 6 °C
Copy and complete the weather report, using these temperatures.

The hottest place today is Barnsley with a temperature of ____,

while in Eastbourne a ground frost has left the temperature just
below zero at ____. In Bristol it is even colder at ____. Finally,
in Tenby the temperature is just above freezing at ____.

Adding and subtracting directed

4.4 numbers

Adding and subtracting positive numbers

These two operations can be illustrated on a thermometer scale.
● Adding a positive number moves the marker up the thermometer scale.
For example, +6
–2 4
–2 + 6 = 4

–10 –5 0 5

● Subtracting a positive number moves the marker down the thermometer scale.
For example, –5
–2 3
3 – 5 = –2

–10 –5 0 5

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

EXAMPLE 1

The temperature at midnight was 2 °C but then it fell by five degrees. What was the new
temperature?

Falling five degrees means the calculation is 2 – 5, which is equal to –3. So, the new
temperature is –3 °C.
–3 2

°C

–10 –5 0 5 10

EXERCISE 4D

Find the answer to each of the following.

FOUNDATION
1

a 2° – 4° = b 4° – 7° = c 3° – 5° = d 1° – 4° =
e 6° – 8° = f 5° – 8° = g –2 + 5 = h –1 + 4 =
i –4 + 3 = j –6 + 5 = k –3 + 5 = l –5 + 2 =
m –1 – 3 = n –2 – 4 = o –5 – 1 = p 3–4=
q 2–7= r 1–5= s –3 + 7 = t 5–6=
u –2 – 3 = v 2–6= w –8 + 3 = x 4–9=

2 At 5 am the temperature in Lisbon was –4 °C. At 11 am the temperature was 3 °C.

a By how many degrees did the temperature rise?
b The temperature in Madrid was two degrees lower than in Lisbon at 5 am.
What was the temperature in Madrid at 5 am?

3 Here are five numbers.

4 7 8 2 5
a Use two of the numbers to make a calculation with an answer of –6.
b Use three of the numbers to make a calculation with an answer of –1.
c Use four of the numbers to make a calculation with an answer of –18.
d Use all five of the numbers to make a calculation with an answer of –12.

4 A submarine is 600 metres below sea level.

A radar system can detect submarines down to 300 metres below sea level.
To safely avoid detection, the submarine captain keeps the submarine 50 metres below the
level of detection.
How many metres can the submarine climb to be safe from detection?

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

Adding and subtracting negative numbers

To add a negative number …
… treat the + – as a –

For example: 3 + (–5) = 3 – 5 = –2 add –5

–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4

is equivalent to: subtract 5

–3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4

To subtract a negative number …

… treat the – – as a +

For example: 3 − (−5) = 3 + 5 = 8 subtract –5

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

is equivalent to: add 5

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Using your calculator

Calculations involving negative numbers can be done by using the (–) key.

EXAMPLE 2

Work out –6 – –2.

Press (–) 6 – (–) 2 =
The answer should be –4.

EXERCISE 4E
FOUNDATION

1 Write down the answer to each of the following, then check your answers on a calculator.
a –3 – 5 = b –2 – 8 = c –5 – 6 = d 6–9= e 5–3=
f 3–8= g –4 + 5 = h –3 + 7 = i –2 + 9 = j –6 + –2 =
k –1 + –4 = l –8 + –3 = m 5 – –6 = n 3 – –3 = o 6 – –2 =
p 3 – –5 = q –5 – –3 = r –2 – –1 = s –4 – 5 = t 2–7=

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

FOUNDATION
2 What is the difference between the following temperatures?
a 4 °C and –6 °C b –2 °C and –9 °C c –3 °C and 6 °C

3 Find what you have to add to 5 to get:

a 7 b 2 c 0 d –2 e –5 f –15

4 Find what you have to subtract from 4 to get:

a 2 b 0 c 5 d 9 e 15 f –4

5 Find what you have to add to –5 to get:

a 8 b –3 c 0 d –1 e 6 f –7

6 Find what you have to subtract from –3 to get:

a 7 b 2 c –1 d –7 e –10 f 1

7 You have the following cards.

–9 –8 –4 0 +1 +3 +5
a Which card should you choose to make the answer to the following sum as large as
possible? What is the answer?

+6 + =
……
b Which card should you choose to make the answer to part a as small as possible?
What is the answer?
c Which card should you choose to make the answer to the following subtraction as large
as possible? What is the answer?

+6 – =
……
d Which card should you choose to make the answer to part c as small as possible?
What is the answer?

8 The thermometer in a car is inaccurate by up to two degrees.

An ice alert warning comes on at 3 °C, according to the thermometer temperature.
If the actual temperature is 2 °C, will the alert come on?
Explain how you decide.

9 Two numbers have a sum of 5.

One of the numbers is negative.
The other is a positive even number.
What are the two numbers if the even number is as small as possible?

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 Multiplying and dividing
4.5 directed numbers

The rules for multiplying and dividing two directed numbers are very easy.
● When the signs of the two numbers are the same, the answer is positive.
● When the signs of the two numbers are different, the answer is negative.
Here are some examples.
2×4=8 12 ÷ –3 = –4 –2 × –3 = 6 –12 ÷ –3 = 4
A common error is to confuse, for example, –3 and (–3)2.
2

–32 = –3 × 3 = –9
but,
(–3)2 = –3 × –3 = +9.
So, this means that if we use a variable, for example, a = –5, the calculation would be as follows:
a2 = –5 × –5 = +25

EXAMPLE 3

a = –2 and b = –6
Work out the following:
a a2 b a2 + b2 c b2 – a2 d (a – b)2

a a2 = –2 × –2 = +4
2 2
b a +b = +4 + –6 × –6 = 4 + 36 = 40
2 2
c b –a = 36 – 4 = 32
d (a – b)2 = (–2 – –6)2 = (–2 + 6)2 = (4)2 = 16

EXERCISE 4F

Write down the answers to the following.

FOUNDATION

a –3 × 5 b –2 × 7 c –4 × 6

d –2 × –3 e –7 × –2 f –12 ÷ –6

g –16 ÷ 8 h 24 ÷ –3 i 16 ÷ –4

j –6 ÷ –2 k 4 × –6 l 5 × –2

m 6 × –3 n –2 × –8 o –9 × –4

p 24 ÷ –6 q 12 ÷ –1 r –36 ÷ 9

s –14 ÷ –2 t 100 ÷ 4 u –2 × –9

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 CHAPTER 4: Directed numbers

FOUNDATION
2 Write down the answers to the following.
a –3 + –6 b –2 × –8 c 2 + –5
d 8 × –4 e –36 ÷ –2 f –3 × –6
g –3 – –9 h 48 ÷ –12 i –5 × –4
j 7 – –9 k –40 ÷ –5 l –40 + –8
m 4 – –9 n 5 – 18 o 72 ÷ –9
p –7 – –7 q 8 – –8 r 6 × –7

3 What number do you multiply by –3 to get the following?

a 6 b –90 c –45
d 81 e 21

4 What number do you divide –36 by to get the following?

a –9 b 4 c 12
d –6 e 9

5 Evaluate the following.

a –6 + (4 – 7) b –3 – (–9 – –3) c 8 + (2 – 9)

6 Evaluate the following.

a 4 × (–8 ÷ –2) b –8 –(3 × –2) c –1 × (8 – –4)

7 What do you get if you divide –48 by the following?

a –2 b –8
c 12 d 24

8 Write down six different multiplications that give the answer –12.

9 Write down six different divisions that give the answer –4.

10 Put these calculations in order from the lowest to the highest answer.
–5 × 4 –20 ÷ 2 –16 ÷ –4 3 × –6

11 x = –2, y = –3 and z = –4. Work out the following:

a x2 b y2 + z 2
c z2 – x2 d (x – y)2

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 Why this chapter matters
The squares and square roots of numbers are important tools
in mathematics and mathematicians have helped us to use
them by inventing notation.

We often need to multiply a number by itself two or three times,

for example when finding the area of a square or the volume of
a cube.

You have seen in Chapter One how we can write 52 instead of

5 × 5. We can also show 5 × 5 × 5 by using 53. This short cut is
called index notation (see Chapter 18).

The notation for the square root of a number (e.g. √25) is even
more convenient. Without this, we would have to write ‘the
number which multiplies by itself to make 25’. The sign for the
3
cube root of a number is √ .

The root signs are especially convenient when the roots are hard
to work out and difficult to express accurately. Square numbers
such as 4, 9, 16 and 25 have whole numbers as their square roots
but most numbers have fractions. If the fractions are expressed as
decimals they are sometimes recurring (that is, they never end)
which means that they can never be written down accurately.

The notation we now use was only introduced in the sixteenth

century (CE). One of the first people to use it in print was a
German mathematician called Christoph Rudolff. The notation
was simple and easy to understand and was soon widely used.

Ways of working out square roots have been developed by

mathematicians over the centuries. This Babylonian tablet
showing how to calculate the square root of two is 2500 years
ago.
Notation can be used in calculations to represent the square
roots of numbers without actually having to work them out
or write them down. This makes it possible to carry out more
sophisticated and accurate calculations.

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