Rational Number Review: Integers and Number Line

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Numbers are an important part of daily life.

Integers and rational numbers are numbers that are used to express quantities in real-world situations. The price of a book or new video game is represented by a rational number. The temperature or amount of money owed to a friend is represented by an integer.

To learn more about integers, you will watch Math Antics - Negative Numbers. As you watch the video, answer the following in your math journal, then click on the items to see the answers (no peeking!):

Integers and their negatives can be seen on a number line.

Every integer on a number line has an opposite, or a number that is the same distance from zero (0), but in the other direction. When graphing a number on a number line, the distance from zero is represented by absolute value.

Review what absolute value is and how to find the absolute value of a number as you watch Absolute Value by Shmoop. As you watch the video, answer the following in your math journal, then click on the items to see the answers (no peeking!):

 Think back to the question that was presented to you at the beginning of the lesson:

What integer could be used to represent the following real-world situations?

• Katie flew a kite 15 feet above the ground.
• The shark swam 15 feet below the water.

If a kite is flying 15 feet above the ground, the ground would represent the point 0 on a number line. Since the kite is above the ground, it would represent a positive integer, or +15.

The shark is swimming below the water. Since the water is below the ground, it would be represented by a negative integer, or –15.

What other situations could be represented by integers in the world around you?

1. Write at least two examples in your math journal.
2. Then, sketch a number line showing integers from -5 to +5.
3. Identify the location of -3 and determine its absolute value.

In the Got It? section, you will practice graphing rational numbers on a number line and applying them to real-world situations as you play interactive games and practice.