Question

If several points are graphed on a number line, is the point that is farthest from 0 always greater? Explain.

Answer 1

If several points are graphed on a number line,  the point that is farthest from 0 need NOT be always greater.

• Consider x axis, our Real number line.
• We can traverse in positive number direction and negative number direction.
• We assume that negative numbers are smaller than 0 and positive numbers are larger than 0.
• Then, we can see that number may be negative , but it can be the farthest point.
• Eg:
• Consider the points:  - 8 , -4 , 0 , 3 , 7.
• Here -8 is the farthest point from 0.
• But -8 < 0
• Hence -8 is also the smallest number in the sequence, although | -8 | is biggest of all.
• If several points are graphed on a number line, the point that is farthest from 0 need not be always greater.