

The plus or addition sign tells us to move to the right on the number line. If I have 1 cookie (1) and I want to give you 3 cookies (-3), that means I owe you 2 cookies (-2).

Starting at number 1, move 3 steps to the left on the number line. The subtraction tells us to move to the left on the number line. The other thing to note is that the addition symbol (+) tells us to move to the right of the number line while the subtraction symbol (-) tells us to move to the left of the number line. The negative symbol applies only to the number it is paired with. The subtraction symbol tells us which direction we want to go along the number line. They both look the same but have different meanings. The first thing to understand is the difference in the meaning between the subtraction symbol (-) and the negative number symbol (-).

When it comes to using negative numbers in addition and subtraction, using a number line is crucial for understanding how it all works. Therefore, -5 is smaller than -3 because you are further away from zero.Īdding and Subtracting with Negative Numbers.So -3 means you are 3 steps away from 0 and -5 means you are 5 steps away from zero.The negative sign tells you how far away the number is from the zero.To help my students understand better, I tell them to think of negative numbers this way: The negative numbers also increases digitally as you move to the left of the line, but the negative sign means the value of the number actually decreases.The number line has to beginning and no ending, indicated by the arrow on both ends of the line.
