Integers & Absolute Value
With sea level as the starting point of 0, you can express 86 meters below
sea level as 0 – 86, or – 86.
Negative Numbers & Integers
A negative number is a number less than zero.
Negative numbers like –86, positive numbers like +125, and zero are members of the set of integers.
The Set of Integers
Integers can be represented as points on a number line.
This set of integers can be written as {…, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,…}
where … means it continues to infinity in both directions.
CoordinatesTo graph integers, locate the point named by the integers on a number line.
The number that corresponds to a point is called the coordinate of that point.
Notice that 5 is to the left of 4 on the number line.
This means that 5 is less than 4.
Inequalities
A sentence that compares two numbers or quantities is called an inequality. They contain symbols like and .