Negative numbers

So far you have only looked at positive numbers, but negative numbers are just as important. Negative numbers have a minus sign (–) in front of them.

Some examples of where negative numbers will apply to real life is with temperatures and bank balances, although hopefully our bank balances will not display too many negatives!

Perhaps you’ve seen negative numbers in weather reports where a temperature is below freezing, for example –2°C, or you may have seen them on frozen food packets.

If you ever have an overdraft at the bank, you may see minus signs next to the figures. If a bank statement reads –£30, for example, this tells you how much you’re overdrawn. In other words, what you owe the bank!

Where have you seen negative numbers recently? Look at this thermometer:

Figure 2 Negative numbers on a thermometer

It shows us that:

• –10°C is a lower temperature than –5°C
• –15°C is a lower temperature than –10°C.

The lower the temperature, the colder it is.