Sign in Book a free trial

Year 7 Maths · KS3 notes

Negative numbers

Clear notes with worked examples, then 4 practice questions with answers. Written by Beyond Tutors tutors for the KS3 National Curriculum.

On the number line

Numbers to the left are smaller: $-7 < -2 < 0 < 3$ .

Think of temperatures: $-7$ °C is colder than $-2$ °C.

Adding and subtracting

Adding a positive: move right. $-4 + 9 = 5$
Subtracting a positive: move left. $3 - 8 = -5$
Two signs next to each other:

$+\,-$ or $-\,+$ → minus. $6 + (-2) = 6 - 2 = 4$

$-\,-$ → plus. $5 - (-3) = 5 + 3 = 8$

Multiplying and dividing

Same signs → positive. Different signs → negative.

$-3 \times -6 = 18$ $-20 \div 4 = -5$ $7 \times -2 = -14$

Check yourself

$-2 - 5 = ?$ (answer: $-7$ )

$-12 \div -3 = ?$ (answer: 4)

Practice questions

Try each one, then tap to see the answer and why.

Question 1 · Negative numbers
Work out $-7 + 3$ .
- A $-10$
- B10
- C4
- D $-4$
Show the answer
D: $-4$
Start at $-7$ and move 3 to the right: $-4$ .
Question 2 · Negative numbers
Work out $2 - (-5)$ .
- A $-7$
- B $-3$
- C3
- D7
Show the answer
D: 7
Subtracting a negative is the same as adding: $2 + 5 = 7$ .
Question 3 · Negative numbers
Work out $-24 \div -6$ .
- A $-4$
- B $-18$
- C4
- D18
Show the answer
C: 4
Same signs give a positive answer: $24 \div 6 = 4$ .
Question 4 · Negative numbers
At 6 am the temperature was $-3$ °C. By 2 pm it was 8°C. By how much did it rise?
- A5°C
- B11°C
- C8°C
- D $-11$ °C
Show the answer
B: 11°C
From $-3$ up to 0 is 3, then up to 8 is 8 more: $3 + 8 = 11$ °C.

More Year 7 topics