Mr.

Wilkinson | Math 8
Representations & Contexts for Integer
Addition/Subtraction
Contexts


Temperature
Most people in Canada measure temperature in degrees Celsius, and in the Yukon we
know it can get a lot colder than 0
o
C! Notice that a thermometer is basically just a
vertical number line. Temperatures colder than freezing are represented with
negative numbers.

If it is 4
O
C outside, and then the temperature decreases by 7
O
C, the new temperature will
be 4
O
C - 7
O
C = -3
O
C

Side note: Scientists have developed a system of measuring temperature that does not use negative
numbers because it defines zero degrees to be the absolute coldest temperature that anything in the
universe could ever have. This system is called the Kelvin scale.


Altitude/Position
Altitude (or height) is a measure of distance above sea level.
The altitude at the top of Denali, North Americas highest
mountain, is 6168 meters above sea level. But some places, like
Death Valley in California, are below sea level. Negative numbers
can be used to measure the altitude of these places.




Altitude is an example of a concept in physics called position. Position is defined as how far an object
is from a chosen origin in a particular direction. The origin doesnt have to be sea level and the
direction doesnt have to be up. In the diagram below, the barn has been chosen as the origin and
right has been chosen as the positive direction. Bossy the Cows position is -7.



Mr. Wilkinson | Math 8

Finance
People and businesses
sometimes owe money
to other people and
businesses. Your net
worth is the total
amount of money you
would have if you and
everyone else paid
back the money they
owed.

(In the cartoon, everyone
except the man sitting on the
sidewalk actually has a
negative net worth, because
they all owe more money than they actually have).

If I have $1500 in the bank, but I owe $850 on my credit card, then my net worth is ($1500) - ($850) =
$650.

Public service announcement: Hey kids! Try not let your net worth be negative, unless it is for something that will pay off later,
like job training or a university degree.




Pure Math
Mathematicians use negative integers because they allow us to solve problems that we couldnt solve
without them. Without negative integers, the problem 6 - 12 = ? has no solution.

In pure math, every counting number, , is given an opposite, , such that .
-67 and 67 are each others opposite.

If we want to perform an addition like 5 + (-3), we can break the 5 into an opposite and a leftover: (2) +
(3). Then we have (2) + (3) + (-3), which is 2 because (3) + (-3) is 0. (This might seem complicated at
first, but it is exactly what is happening with the two-colour counters.

In pure math, we can also extend the idea of negative numbers to things that are not numbers.
Heres an example:

Can you see how these two pictures are
opposites or negatives of each other?


Mr. Wilkinson | Math 8

Representations

Two-colour counters
These are designed to illustrate the important fact that
(+1) + (-1) = 0.

Each yellow counter represents (+1) and each red counter
represents (-1). A zero-pair (one red and one yellow) is worth
zero.

Adding integers is easy: just place counters representing each
number on the table, and then remove any zero-pairs you can.
What you are left with is the answer. Here, 3 zero-pairs are
being removed to show that 3 + (-5) = -2

To subtract integers, start by placing counters representing the
minuend (the number you are subtracting from) on the table.
Then take away counters representing the subtrahend (the
number you are taking away from the minuend. Sometimes
you wont be able to do this, because there are not enough
counters. No problem! Just add zero-pairs until you can!




Arrows on the number line
As you go farther in math, you will use manipulatives like two-colour counters less and the number line
more and more.
Start at zero. Adding a positive integer means moving a certain number of spaces right on the number
line, and adding a negative integer means moving left. Subtracting is the opposite of adding, so just
use backwards arrows. The diagram below shows 5-7=-2 or 5+(-7). Why are they the same?


Mr. Wilkinson | Math 8