Math Lit A Pathway to College Mathematics Second Edition Pearson 2017

CYCLE 1 SECTION 1.6 IT’ S ALL RELATIVE UNDERSTANDING INTEGERS CLASS NOTES
1. Atoms contain protons, neutrons and electrons. Each proton has a positive charge, each electron has a
negative charge, and neutrons have no charge.
An atom, by definition, is neutral and has the same number of protons and electrons.
An atom can gain or lose electrons and become a charged particle called an ion.
A positive ion has more protons than electrons, while a negative ion has more electrons than protons.
Use this information about atoms and ions to complete the Charge from Protons and Charge from Electrons
columns in the table below

2. The abbreviation for an ion includes either a positive or a negative exponent that represents the net charge.
If the net charge of an ion is +1 or −1, only a positive or negative sign is shown, since the 1 is implied.
Because the net change of an atom is 0, no exponent is written.
Explain how to determine the net charge, which is shown on the atom or ion’s symbol in the previous table.

3. An atom can become a charged ion only by gaining or losing electrons, not protons.
An atom and an ion of the same element always have the same number of protons.
Use this information to complete the following chart.

• Negative numbers may seem abstract since they don’t represent physical counts.
• However, there are naturally occurring situations in which we have less than zero, such as debt.
• Negative numbers allow us to describe such situations.
• All numbers were created to deal with issues that occur in life, whether we are dealing with debt or
counting a set of objects.
 4. Describe the kind of numbers you would use to answer each question.
a. How many cars are in the parking lot?
b. What is the depth of a submarine (relative to sea level) if it is descending at a rate of 200 feet per hour?

c. Beth purchases a candy bar to share with her children and husband. How much will each person get?

d. Jake uses a spreadsheet to keep track of his finances. He lists all purchases and bills for the month as
well as any income. How much money does he have left after paying his bills?

5. a. What is the opposite of −8? b. Find |−11|.

c. What is the sign of 24? The size? c. Read and simplify: −(−6)

d. Read and simplify: −|−6|

6. The following examples do not use negative numbers, but each has a positive or negative meaning.
Determine whether the meaning is positive or negative. If it is negative, write it using a negative number.
a. 100 feet below level

b. $500 in the black

The following situations contain negative numbers used in real-life situations. Interpret what each one means.
a. −30°𝐹

b. A poll has a +/- 3% margin of error

7. Write a sentence to explain Lily Lake’s enrollment.

8. The periodic table of elements provides helpful information about each element.
• The atomic number, which is the number of protons, is always included along with the atomic mass.
• The atomic mass, rounded to the nearest whole number, is equal to the number of protons plus the
number of neutrons.
• Using this information and the periodic table entry for fluorine, we can determine that fluorine has a
total of 19 protons and neutrons.
• Since the atomic number is 9, there are 9 protons.
• There must be 19 – 9 = 10 neutrons.
• Since fluorine is a neutral atom, it also has 9 electrons.

For each element shown in the periodic table entries below, find the number of
protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Phosphorus:

Sulfur:

Chlorine:
What’s the point?
• Negative numbers are commonly used and provide a way of describing relative position.
• Often, they describe a number less than zero, such as temperature.
• However, they can also describe being below a reference point (such as sea level) just as positive
numbers describe being above it.
What did you learn?
• How to interpret signed number situations
• How to find the opposite and absolute value of a number