Integer number line
Plot and order integers, see opposites and absolute value, compare two numbers and find the distance between them on a number line.
🧒 Kids: type some numbers, like −7, 3, −2, and watch them appear on the line in order!
Integer number line
What the number line shows
The tool has four modes. Plot and order places up to six numbers and lists them from least to greatest. Opposites draws a number and its opposite with arcs showing the absolute value.
Compare places two numbers and explains which is greater. Distance draws an arc between two numbers and shows how to work out the gap, with or without crossing 0.
Ready-made examples to try
- Order −8, 5, −3, 0 and 2
- The opposite and absolute value of −9
- Compare −12 and −4
- The distance from −6 to 9
- The distance from −15 to −4
Ordering integers
On a number line, numbers get bigger as you move right. So every positive number is greater than 0, and every negative number is less than 0.
Negatives feel backwards at first. −8 looks bigger than −3, but it is further left, so −8 < −3. Temperatures help: −8 °C is colder than −3 °C.
Opposites and absolute value
Opposite numbers sit the same distance from 0 on either side, like 9 and −9. That distance is the absolute value: |−9| = |9| = 9. Absolute value is never negative, because a distance can’t be negative.
Absolute value describes size without direction. A debt of $30 and a balance of −30 dollars have the same absolute value, 30.
Distance between two integers
To find the distance between two numbers, subtract and take the absolute value: from −6 to 9 is |9 − (−6)| = 15. When the numbers are on opposite sides of 0, you can add their distances from 0: 6 + 9 = 15.
This is how you find a change in temperature or the height between a diver and a bird. Grade 7 links it to subtraction (7.NS.A.1c).
Common number line mistakes
- Counting the marks instead of the gaps when finding a distance.
- Thinking a bigger digit means a bigger number for negatives, like −8 > −3.
- Giving a negative absolute value, like |−6| = −6.
- Unequal spacing when drawing a number line by hand.
Number line skills by grade
Grade 6 places integers and rational numbers on number lines, orders them and uses absolute value (6.NS.C.6 and 6.NS.C.7). Grade 7 uses the number line to add and subtract and to find distances (7.NS.A.1). In India, the number line with negatives is part of class 6.
For teachers
Put the tool on the projector and play “where does it go?”: call out a number and let a child predict its place before you type it. To share a setup, add ?mode=compare&v=-12,-4 to the address. The mode can be plot, opposite, compare or distance.
More integer help
- Integer practice: 10 questions on any of 15 skills, marked as you go.
- Integer calculator: add, subtract, multiply or divide with the sign rule, a number line and integer chips.
- Integer number line: plot and order numbers, opposites, absolute value and distance.
- Lessons: multiplying integers · integers for kids
- Worksheets: adding and subtracting integers · comparing integers · coordinate plane · make an integer test
Back to integers for kids · ratios · equations · 6th grade math · 7th grade math
Last reviewed
Questions parents ask
What is an integer number line?
A number line with 0 in the middle, positive numbers to the right and negative numbers to the left. It shows the order of integers and the distance between them.
How do you order integers on a number line?
Plot them and read from left to right. Numbers further left are smaller, so −7 < −2 < 0 < 3.
What is the absolute value of a number?
Its distance from 0 on the number line. |−6| = 6 and |6| = 6, because both are 6 steps from 0.
How do you find the distance between two integers?
Subtract them and take the absolute value: the distance from −5 to 7 is |7 − (−5)| = 12.
What are opposite numbers?
Two numbers the same distance from 0 on different sides, like 6 and −6. They add up to 0.
What grade learns integers on a number line?
Grade 6 under Common Core 6.NS.C.6 and 6.NS.C.7. In India, class 6.