Ordering Integers on Number Lines
Ordering integers on number lines is a Grade 6 math skill in Big Ideas Math Advanced 1, Chapter 6: Integers and the Coordinate Plane. Students plot integers on a horizontal number line and read them left to right (least to greatest), understanding that farther left means smaller and farther right means greater — a key concept for working with negative numbers.
Key Concepts
Integers are ordered on the number line: we say integer $a$ is less than integer $b$, and write $a < b$, whenever $b$ is to the right of $a$ on the number line. This is the same as saying that $a$ is to the left of $b$. Given two integers $a$ and $b$, one of these statements is true: $a = b$, $a < b$, or $a b$.
Common Questions
How do you order integers using a number line?
Plot all integers on a number line. Integers further to the left are smaller; integers further to the right are greater. Read from left to right to list them in order from least to greatest.
How do you order negative integers correctly?
More negative integers (farther from zero) are smaller. For example, -10 < -3 < 0 < 2 < 7. A common error is thinking that -10 is greater than -3 because 10 > 3 — the number line helps avoid this mistake.
How do you write inequalities to show the order of integers?
Use < (less than) or > (greater than) to connect integers in order. After plotting and ordering, write: -5 < -2 < 0 < 4 < 9. The inequality signs all point in the same direction for a list in order.
Where is ordering integers taught in Big Ideas Math Advanced 1?
Ordering integers on number lines is covered in Chapter 6: Integers and the Coordinate Plane of Big Ideas Math Advanced 1, the Grade 6 math textbook.