Maths tricks · trick 23 of 25 · free

Below zero: money and temperature — Maths trick for kids

Numbers below zero are everyday maths: −5 °C on a cold hill night, or a balance of −₹15 when you owe money. Picture a number line. Going warmer or adding money is walking up; going colder or spending is walking down. Crossing zero? Walk to 0 first, then count the rest.

The trick

Cross zero — “go to 0 first, then count the rest of the steps”

  1. Warmer or more money: move up the number line. Colder or spending: move down.
  2. Crossing zero: count the steps to 0 first, then the steps left over.
  3. The gap between a number below zero and one above zero: add the two distances from 0.

Use it for: Weather reports, hill-station temperatures, money you owe or are owed, and lifts going below the ground floor.

Worked example: At sunset it was 4 °C. By midnight it was 9 degrees colder. What was it at midnight (°C)? −5

  1. Going down 4 steps reaches 0.
  2. 9 − 4 = 5 more steps go below zero: −5.

Check: −5 + 9 = 4 ✓

✏️ Practice

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🏁 Trick 23 test

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🖨️ Negative Numbers Worksheet for Kids

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