🌡️ Writing & Explaining Order in Real-World Contexts
Learning goal: I can write, interpret, and explain statements of order for rational numbers in real-world situations.
Language goal: I can explain what an inequality means in a real situation using because.
📚 Vocabulary
Order statement: An inequality such as −7 < −3 that tells which value is greater.
Context: The real-world situation a number describes (money, temperature, elevation).
Balance: How much money is in an account; a negative balance means money is owed.
💡 Learn it
Numbers describe real things: temperature, money, elevation, depth. The order statement has a real-world meaning.
Example: a temperature of −7°C is colder than −3°C. We write −7 < −3, and in words: −7 is less than −3, so −7°C is the colder day.
Always tie the symbol back to the story: which is more money, warmer, higher, deeper?
Worked example. Tuesday's low was −5°F. Wednesday's low was −12°F. Compare them.
−12 is farther left than −5, so −12 < −5.
In context: Wednesday (−12°F) was the colder day.
✏️ Practice
Score: 0 / 4
1. Account A: −$20. Account B: −$50. Which balance is greater?
💡 −20 is closer to 0, so it is the greater balance.
2. Using those accounts, who OWES more money?
💡 Owing more = farther below zero = −50.
3. A diver is at −30 ft and a fish is at −12 ft. Write an inequality comparing the diver to the fish (use < or >). Example form: -30 ? -12
💡 Deeper is more negative, so it is less.
4. −12 < −5 for the temperatures above. What does it MEAN?
💡 The smaller temperature is the colder one.
🗣️ Sentence frames (ESOL support)
I know ___ because ___.
First, I ___. Then, I ___.
The answer is ___, so ___.
🎟️ Exit ticket
A debt of $15 and a debt of $40 can be written as balances −15 and −40. Write an order statement comparing the two balances and explain what it means about who owes more.