Florida B.E.S.T. MA.6.NSO.1.3
The Standard
Given a mathematical or real-world context, interpret the absolute value of a number as the distance from zero on a number line. Find the absolute value of rational numbers.
Florida B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students locate rational numbers on a number line and determine each number’s distance from zero. They calculate absolute value and explain what that distance means in a mathematical or real-world situation.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly evaluate absolute values of positive and negative integers, fractions, and decimals. They explain the result as a nonnegative distance from zero and connect that distance to the given context.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think absolute value makes every number positive by changing its sign, rather than measuring distance from zero. They may also confuse |−6| with −|6| or think −6 is farther from zero than 6.
How to Assess It
- Give this exit ticket: “A submarine is at −18.5 meters. What does |−18.5| mean in this context, and what is its value?”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Place integer, fraction, and decimal cards on a floor number line, then measure each card’s distance from zero.
Ask students to explain why |−4.5| and |4.5| are equal, using a number line in their response.
Play Absolute Value Match by pairing rational-number cards with value cards, such as −3/4 with 3/4.
Use temperatures, bank balances, and elevations to identify each value’s distance from zero and explain what that distance represents.
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Related Standards
- MA.912.AR.4.1
Given a mathematical or real-world context, write and solve one-variable absolute value equations.
- MA.8.NSO.1.1
Extend previous understanding of rational numbers to define irrational numbers within the real number system. Locate an approximate value of a numerical express...
- MA.6.NSO.1.2
Given a mathematical or real-world context, represent quantities that have opposite direction using rational numbers. Compare them on a number line and explain ...
- MA.6.NSO.1.4
Solve mathematical and real-world problems involving absolute value, including the comparison of absolute value.
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