Order Negative Numbers

This activity is about ordering and comparing negative numbers.

Example

It helps to think of a negative thermometer such as this one.

Order the following numbers from smallest to largest:

-20, -10, -14, -6, -18

Answer

-20, -18, -14, -10, -6

Notice how the smaller the number, the larger the digits, e.g. -20 is smaller than -6.

This is because -20 is further away from 0 than -6.

Let's have a go at practising this in the questions that follow.