Distance between numbers (7th grade math)

We start out by calculating the distance between various pairs of numbers and looking for strategies, with the help of the number line.

Working towards a formula, we check if perhaps the distance between a and b could be just the difference a − b. That almost works, but not quite!

The formula is: the distance between two rational numbers on the number line is the absolute value of their difference.

Then we calculate the distance between two negative numbers using both "common sense" and the formula. Lastly we look at a real-world application concerning how many years the mount Vesuvius was silent in ancient times.

See also

Dividing Integers — a video lesson

Back to the grade 7 video index

Back to the integer videos index

Back to all videos index

Math Mammoth Grade 7 complete curriculum

Math Mammoth Integers — a self-teaching worktext with explanations & exercises for all operations with integers