Absolute Value Worksheets: Real World 6th Grade Math 6.NS.C.7.C
- Grades
- Grades 5–8, Middle School, Elementary
- Pages
- 4
- File type
- Answer key
- Included
- Subject
- Math, Number Lines, Numbers, Algebra
- Topic
- absolute value, 6th grade math
- Resource types
- Worksheets & Printables, Word Problems, Worksheets
- Answer key
- Included
- Standards
- 6. NS.C.7
About this resource
What's inside this resource
Absolute Value can be a tricky topic to teach. It seems so easy and simple, but students actually need a strong, conceptual understanding of it for later years in middle school and high school math, so it definitely can't be skipped or glossed over!
Here's a ready-to-go lesson all about absolute value for students in 6th grade. It is designed to meet standard CCSS 6.NS.C.7.c
This lesson could also be a great review for students in grades 7 or 8 or could even be used in high school special education classrooms.
First, there is a simple handout that explains what absolute value is using an easy, visual analogy: a dart board.
Then, there are two pages of real-world questions for students to approach using an understanding of absolute value. From bank accounts, to elevation, to temperatures, to golf games, we actually use absolute value regularly in our number system without even noticing it! These questions require students to use number lines, integers, and absolute value proficiently.
Students will notice how depending on the question, you may need to use an integer or an absolute value. They will start to see how absolute value can be helpful when calculating the difference between two numbers on a number line.
A complete answer key is also included!
If you enjoy this product, check out other grade 6 math number system lessons in my store:
Middle School Math Stations or Centers: Fraction Operations: Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide
Multiplication and Division: Real Life Word Problems for Grades 4-6
Decimal Operations Assessment: Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide
Middle School Math Stations or Centers: Factors, Multiples, Prime and Composite
Integers and Plotting to Make Pictures in 4 Quadrant Cartesian Planes
Combinations of Transformations in 4 Quadrants: Translation, Rotation, Reflection
Real-Life Integers: Working with Integers and Number Lines Grade 6 Math
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In the classroom
Teaching tips & learning objectives
Learning objectives
Define absolute value as a number's distance from zero and write it using vertical bars
Separate a signed quantity from its magnitude: a net worth of −$40 against a debt of $40, an elevation of −408 m against a 408 m climb
Plot positive and negative values on a number line and use the plot to find the difference between them
Teaching tips
The dartboard image does the conceptual work — a score is how far from the centre the dart landed, direction irrelevant — so it is worth labouring before any question is attempted
Questions 1, 2 and 4 are laid out as two answers side by side, one headed INTEGER and one headed ABSOLUTE VALUE; pointing at that structure once usually carries students through the rest
Question 6 is the only one asking for reasoning in words, and its worked response is specific — -23 is one step farther from zero than +22 — so it makes a good short whole-class discussion
Skills covered
Defining absolute value — students read it as distance from zero and as the value without its sign, then apply it to the rings of a dartboard.
Writing absolute value notation — questions 3 and 5 ask for an equation per value, producing ∣-26∣ = 26, ∣+14∣ = 14, ∣+6∣ = 6 and ∣-3∣ = 3.
Distinguishing magnitude from sign — four questions ask for the integer and the absolute value as separate answers, so a −$40 net worth and a $40 debt are recorded as two different things.
Good to know
Questions teachers ask about this resource
Which measurement systems appear in the questions?
Both. The Dead Sea question uses metres, the temperature question uses degrees Celsius with Iqaluit and Ottawa, while the wire question uses inches and the bird-and-fish question uses yards. A class working entirely in one system will meet the other partway through the set.
What is the dartboard on the first page for?
It carries the whole concept in one picture: your score for each dart is how far from the centre it lands, and the direction does not matter. Students fill the absolute value into each empty ring, so the analogy is worked rather than just read.
Which question asks students to write rather than calculate?
Question 6, which asks which of -23 or +22 has the greater absolute value and why. Its worked response is that -23 has the greater absolute value because it is one more step farther from zero than +22 — a distance argument rather than a comparison of the numbers themselves.
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Curriculum
Standards, concepts & topics
Standards
Standards
- 6. NS.C.7 — Understand ordering and absolute value of rational numbers. a. Interpret statements of inequality as statements about the relative position of two numbers on a number line diagram. For example, interpret –3 > –7 as a statement that –3 is located to the right of –7 on a number line oriented from left to right. b. Write, interpret, and explain statements of order for rational numbers in realworld contexts. For example, write –3 oC > –7 oC to express the fact that –3 oC is warmer than –7 oC. c. Understand the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from 0 on the number line; interpret absolute value as magnitude for a positive or negative quantity in a real-world situation. For example, for an account balance of –30 dollars, write |–30| = 30 to describe the size of the debt in dollars. d. Distinguish comparisons of absolute value from statements about order. For example, recognize that an account balance less than –30 dollars represents a debt greater than 30 dollars.
Core concepts
Core concepts
Absolute value
Integers
Number line
Magnitude
Word problems
Topics
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