Straight through zero: negative numbers
The Short Answer
Negative numbers appear in the 11+ mostly as temperatures, and as ordering questions. The two things to hold on to are that counting carries straight on through zero rather than stopping at it, and that a bigger-looking negative is a smaller number — minus six is colder than minus two. Drawing a number line settles almost every question of this kind.
Where negatives turn up
Mostly as temperatures — a reading dropping below zero, or the difference between two places. Also in sequences counting down past zero, and on coordinate grids in the quadrants below and to the left of the origin.
The arithmetic is the same in all of them. Only the story changes.
Straight through zero
Zero is not a stopping point. Counting carries on past it.
The same split works for a falling temperature. 4°C falling by 9 degrees: four degrees take you to zero, and the remaining five carry on below it — −5°C.
Bigger digit, smaller number — but only below zero
−6 is smaller than −2. It is colder, it is lower, it sits further left.
The rule that never changes is that numbers get bigger as you move right, and everything else follows from it. Below zero that produces something which sounds wrong the first time you hear it: the bigger the digit, the smaller the number.
Children answer the other way because 2 is a smaller number than 6, and for everything they have met until now, smaller digits meant a smaller number. Negatives reverse it — and only negatives do.
The fix is not a rule. It is a number line, drawn, every time, until the instinct changes:
−7 −6 −5 −4 −3 −2 −1 0 1 2
Ordering becomes a question of which mark is further left, which nobody gets wrong.
And if the line is not to hand, think about the weather. Minus five degrees is colder than minus one degree, and nobody argues about that.
The difference across zero
Also in two parts. Up to zero, then on.
The difference between −3 and 8: three to reach zero, eight more after it. Eleven.
Doing it in one step invites subtracting the digits and answering five, which is wrong and looks plausible.
Where do pupils lose marks?
Ordering negatives backwards, which the number line prevents.
Stopping at zero when counting through it.
Subtracting the digits to find a difference across zero.
Losing a minus sign in a sequence that has counted down past zero.
Try it yourself
Draw a number line if there is any doubt. It costs five seconds and settles most of these.
- What is −7 + 12?
- What is the difference between −3 and 8?
- The temperature is 4°C and falls by 9 degrees. What is it now?
- Put these in order, smallest first: −3, 2, −7, 0
- Which is colder, −6°C or −2°C?
- 5. Count on 12 from −7, straight through zero: seven of those steps take you to zero and the remaining five take you to 5.
- 11. Count from −3 up to zero, which is 3, then from zero to 8, which is 8. Three plus eight is eleven.
- −5°C. Four degrees of the fall take you to zero, and the remaining five carry on below it.
- −7, −3, 0, 2. The further left on the number line, the smaller — so the negative with the bigger digits comes first.
- −6°C. It sits further from zero on the cold side. Children often answer −2 because two is a smaller number than six, which is exactly the confusion this question is built on.
How much practice does this type need at home?
Weather forecasts, in winter. It is three degrees here and minus four in Scotland — what is the difference? Real, immediate, and the answer matters to somebody.
The other useful drill is ordering: give four temperatures including two negatives and ask which is coldest. Do it until the answer stops needing a pause, because the pause is where the wrong instinct lives.
Free: a Maths workbook
Questions across the Maths question types, with the method printed at the top and full answers at the back. One workbook for the whole strand, not a sheet per question type.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my child think −2 is colder than −6?
Because 2 is smaller than 6, and for positive numbers smaller means less. Negatives reverse that: the further from zero on the negative side, the smaller the number. A number line makes it obvious in a way that a rule does not, because −6 is visibly further left. It is worth drawing one every time until the instinct changes.
How do you find the difference across zero?
In two parts: up to zero, then on. The difference between −3 and 8 is 3 to reach zero and 8 more, which is 11. Doing it in one step invites subtracting the digits and getting 5. Splitting it at zero costs nothing and is the same idea as splitting a time calculation at midnight.
Where do negatives actually appear on the paper?
Most often as temperatures — a reading falling below zero, or the difference between two places. They also turn up in sequences that count down past zero, and on coordinate grids in the second, third and fourth quadrants. The arithmetic is the same in each; only the story changes.
Should my child draw a number line every time?
Until it is automatic, yes. It takes about five seconds, it makes ordering obvious, and it converts a question about a rule into a question about which mark is further left. Children who resist drawing it are usually the ones who most need it, because the errors on this topic come from instinct rather than from arithmetic.
Sources
- GL Assessment — 11+ familiarisation materials and question type descriptions Published 2025.
- Clever Clogs Academy — our own Year 4 and Year 5 lesson records, Winslow Published September 2025 to July 2026.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to GL Assessment or Buckinghamshire Council. Test arrangements change; always check the council's own pages for the current year's dates.
We Teach This Method Every Week in Winslow
Groups of no more than six pupils with two qualified teachers, in person or online. Come and see a session before you decide.