Observe, compare and tell the story

Change the temperatures of the three moments. When does it get coldest? Which bar is above zero?

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The bars use the same scale. A negative temperature appears below the zero line.
What we see What it means
Bar above zero Positive temperature
Mark on the zero line Temperature of 0 °C
Bar below zero Negative temperature

Try it off-screen: draw a thermometer, label −2, 0 and 3 and tell a story using these temperatures.

Your mission: discover the role from scratch

Start with the class Above and below zero. Observe concrete situations and explain what the signs mean. The measurement class is a complementary connection: explore first length and time; resume more elaborate conversions when needed.

This track is an intuitive approach. Formal operations with negative numbers are on the next track.

Temperature challenge

One thermometer reads 2 degrees below zero and another reads 3 degrees above zero. Which indicates the highest temperature?

Check out the discovery

3 degrees above zero is the highest temperature. On the thermometer, it is above −2 degrees.

To move forward: explain the difference between zero, above zero and below zero using a drawing.