60.+Introduction+to+Integers

media type="custom" key="11289230" Integers are the numbers which are the opposites of the Natural Numbers. For instance, the set of integers is made up of 1 and -1, 2 and -2, 3 and -3 and so on. We can begin to understand integers if we first learn to locate them on a number line.

When you plot integers on the number line, you can think of their "value" as being the same as the distance to zero. Negative numbers are to the left or less than zero and positive are to the right or greater than zero. Make sense? Negative three is three units to the LEFT of zero so it has a value of -3.That makes it less than -2 which is only **//two//** units to the left of zero.

When we learn to add integers, we will start by adding opposites and using the number line.

Use the number line below to locate 5, -12, 14, 9, -11 and -1. Now, write the numbers in order.

_ -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

You can download additional number lines by clicking on the link below.