6.NOS.C.8.a · Unit 0
↔️ Comparing Rational Numbers on the Number Line
Learning goal: I can interpret a statement of inequality (like −3 > −7) as a statement about the relative position of two numbers on a number line.
Language goal: I can explain a comparison using the words greater than, less than, left, and right.
📚 Vocabulary
Inequality: A statement that compares two values using > or <.
Number line: A line where every point stands for a number, with values increasing left to right.
Rational number: Any number that can be written as a fraction, including integers and negatives.
💡 Learn it
On a horizontal number line, numbers get larger as you move right and smaller as you move left.
So an inequality is really a statement about position. −3 > −7 means −3 sits to the right of −7 on the line.
Watch the trap with negatives: −3 is greater than −7 even though 7 is bigger than 3. Picture the line, not just the digits.
Worked example. Place −7 and −3 on the line and compare them.
- −7 is 7 units left of 0; −3 is 3 units left of 0.
- −3 is to the right of −7.
- A number to the right is greater, so −3 > −7 (and −7 < −3).
✏️ Practice
Score: 0 / 4
1. Which symbol makes it true: −2 ___ −5 ?
💡 −2 is closer to 0, so it is farther right than −5.
2. A number to the LEFT of another number on the line is always…
💡 Values increase to the right, decrease to the left.
3. Order from least to greatest (use commas): −4, 0, −1
💡 Least is farthest left on the line.
4. True or False: −8 > −3
💡 −8 is farther left than −3, so it is less.