Architecture of Grace
Mathematics · The Interior · Grades 6–8

The Interior Mathematics

Activity 4 · How Far From Zero. Answer it here, or print it and use a pencil — both count.

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Mathematics · Activity 4

How Far From Zero

Absolute value asks one question and only one: how far from zero? Not which side. How far. And a distance is never negative.

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No score is kept. No points, no streak, no ranking — the only number anyone writes down is the one your teacher writes down, standing next to you.

Show me one first

This one is nobody's problem — it is only here to show the moves before you touch yours. Watching it costs nothing and is written down nowhere.

|−6|
Find −6 on the line.
Count the steps back to zero — there are 6.
|−6| = 6. Distance is never negative.

Now problem 1 is yours. The hint button is there the whole time, and using it is part of the lesson.

  1. 1|−7| = −10−50510
  2. 2|4| = −10−50510
  3. 3|−3| = −10−50510
  4. 4|0| = −10−50510
  5. 5|−10| = −10−50510
  6. 6Mark the number 6 units from zero, on the left. = −10−50510
  7. 7|−8| = −10−50510
  8. 8Mark the number 9 units from zero, on the right. = −10−50510
  9. 9Mark the number 2 units from zero, on the left. = −10−50510
  10. 10|5| = −10−50510
How confident are you with these?

There is no right answer here. It only tells your teacher where to start next time.

For the teacher — this device only

One probe row, built from what happened on this screen. Nothing is sent anywhere — copy it into the Goal Builder yourself, or print this page. Independent means walked with no hints; supported means walked after a hint. Both are real evidence and neither is a grade.

Date
—
Skill
Absolute value as distance from zero
Measure
Trials (x of y)
Independent
0 of 10
Supported
0 of 10
Hints used
0
Confidence
—

Seven items read |n|; three run it backwards — which number is 6 units from zero, on the left? Those are where a student who only memorised make it positive comes apart, because the answer is negative. Set 2 and Set 3 are the same skills with different numbers.

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