Integers and Absolute Value
Negative Number
A negative number or integer is any number less than zero.
Positive Number
A positive number is any number greater than zero.
Inequality
A sentence that compares two different numbers or quantities is called inequality. They contain symbols like less than (<) or greater than (>). For example, -5 is less than (<) four or four is greater than (>) -5.
Absolute value
The distance between a number in zero on a number line is called its absolute value. On a number line, -4 and 4 are both four units away from zero, even though they are on opposite sides of zero. However they have the same absolute value which is 4 (four). *Important study tip: Since distance cannot be negative the absolute value of a number is ALWAYS POSITIVE or zero.