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# Intro to negative numbers

Learn what negative numbers are and how to plot them on the number line.
Here's a number line that should look very familiar. It starts at 0, then counts up by 1 from there:
We know that if we were to keep going to the right, we would have 11, then 12, and so on.
What happens if we keep going to the left of 0 though? We get negative numbers! To the left of 0 is minus, 1, then minus, 2, then minus, 3, and so on:

## Let's practice!

Problem 1A
• Current
Move the dot to minus, 4.

## Why do we need negative numbers?

Negative numbers help us describe values less than zero.

### Example:

When the temperature is 8, degrees below 0, degrees, it is less than 0. We can say the temperature is minus, 8, degrees.

### A few more negative situations

Problem 2A
• Current
A bank uses positive numbers to represent deposits and negative numbers to represent withdrawals.
How would a bank represent a withdrawal of 19, point, 43 dollars?