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Placing absolute values on the number line

In this math lesson, we learn to sort values from least to greatest using a number line. We practice with negative numbers, positive numbers, and absolute values. By plotting these values on the number line, we can easily identify their order and improve our understanding of number relationships.

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Video transcript

What we have here is four different values some of them expressed with negative numbers or absolute value, and what I want to do is sort them from least to greatest, where the least is on the left and the greatest is on the right. So sort from least to greatest. And like always, I encourage you to pause the video and try to work through it on your own. So assuming you have, you had a try at it, so the easiest way I can think about it, well let's just, let's just plot them all on a number line. And you might want to draw it out or eventually you kind of have a number line in your head, and you can think about it that way. So let's first think about the absolute value of value of -27. So what is the absolute value of -27? Well it's just going to be +27. This right over here is the same thing as +27, because -27 is 27 to the left of 0. 27 to the left of 0. So let's plot the absolute value of -27. Well it's really 27, so it's going to be right over here. So that is the absolute value of -27. It is +27. Alright, then we have -17. Well, -17, let's see each hash mark here is 3, so this is -9 and -12, -15. So -17 is gonna be right around there. So that is -17. And then we have -28. So we have -27 and each hash mark is 3, so -28 is going to be right over there. -28. And then finally we have -22.4. So let's see, we have 18, 21, 22 would be here, so 22.4 is going to be roughly right over there. So that is 22.4. So if we want to sort it from least to greatest, well, we just have to start at the left end of the number line. The smallest of them, or the least of them, is -28. Then we go to -17. -17. Then we go to 22.4. Then we go to 22.4. And then we go to the absolute value of -27, and we are done.