Maryland Math 6.NOS.C.6.c
The Standard
- 6.NOS.C.6
- Represent a rational number as a point on vertical or horizontal number lines. Represent points on a number line with negative numbers.
Recognize and locate opposite signs of rational numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line.
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics (2025) · APPLY AND EXTEND PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING OF NUMBERS TO THE SYSTEM OF RATIONAL NUMBERS.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students place positive and negative fractions and decimals on a number line. They find opposite pairs, such as 3/4 and −3/4, on different sides of 0 at equal distances.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student plots −1.5 and 1.5 at equal distances from 0. They can explain why −1.5 and 2 are on different sides of 0 but are not opposites.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students place −1/2 at −2 because they focus on the denominator. Others think any positive and negative number are opposites, even when their distances from 0 differ.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to draw a number line and plot −3/4 and 3/4. Have them label each side of 0 and show whether the points are equally far from 0.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Tape a number line on the floor, mark half-unit steps, and have students stand at −1.5 and 1.5.
Ask students to write why −2 and 3 are on different sides of 0 but are not opposites.
Hand out cards labeled −3/4, 3/4, −2, and 2; students match opposites and plot each pair.
Show thermometer readings of −2.5°C and 2.5°C; students plot both and compare their distances from freezing.
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Related Standards
- 7.NOS.A.1.b
Model the addition of rational numbers as movement along a number line, where the direction and distance depend on the sign and magnitude of the addend. Show th...
- 6.NOS.C.6
Represent a rational number as a point on vertical or horizontal number lines. Represent points on a number line with negative numbers.
- 6.NOS.C.6.b
Locate and interpret the positions of rational numbers on a number line.
- 6.NOS.C.7.b
Locate and interpret the positions of rational numbers on the Coordinate Plane, including how changes in the signs of ordered pairs reflect their location into ...
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