Negative Numbers and Rounding

Negative numbers and rounding are two topics that appear regularly on the SET 11+ maths papers. You need to understand how negative numbers work in real-life contexts (such as temperature) and how to round numbers to a given degree of accuracy. This lesson covers both topics in detail.

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Understanding Negative Numbers

Negative numbers are numbers less than zero. They are written with a minus sign in front, such as -3, -7, or -15.

You can picture them on a number line:

... -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ...

The further left a number is on the number line, the smaller it is.

Key Facts

• -7 is less than -3 (because -7 is further left on the number line).
• 0 is greater than any negative number.
• -1 is the largest negative integer.

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Ordering Negative Numbers

Worked Example

Put these numbers in order from smallest to largest: 3, -5, -1, 0, -8, 4

Think of the number line. The further left, the smaller the number.

Answer: -8, -5, -1, 0, 3, 4

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Adding and Subtracting with Negative Numbers