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NEGATIVE NUMBERS AND GRAPHING IN THE COORDINATE PLANE

In the real world often times there is a need to represent numbers below zero which we call negative numbers. Negative numbers are an extension of our numbering system. Integers, a group of numbers we will work with in this lesson, include whole numbers, 0, and the numbers opposite the whole numbers which are negative numbers.

Integers

{...-10, -9, -8, -7, -6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...}

We will apply our knowledge of integers by graphing in the coordinate plane which has lots of practical uses. One use is mapping locations in a coordinate graphing system on travel maps.

A mathematical coordinate grid includes four quadrants. First we will look at graphing coordinates in Quadrant I where all numbers are positive, and then we will extend the coordinate plane to include graphing points in Quadrants II, III, and IV which include negative numbers.

Functions may also be graphed. To graph a function we write the input value as the first coordinate and the output value as the second coordinate.

Exploring Negative Numbers