‘Explain Your Answer’ Questions

14. Mandy records her change in weight every month. A positive number stands for a weight
gain, and a negative number stands for a weight loss.
June July August
Weight −4 kg +2 kg −2 kg
(a) Mandy’s weight decreases by 1 kg in September. Use a directed number to represent the
change in weight.
(b) In which month, is the weight loss of Mandy the greatest? Explain your answer.

(a) A decrease of 1 kg can be represented by . Remember to write down the reason.

(b) Among −4, +2, −2 and ______, ______ is the smallest number.
∴ In , the weight loss of Mandy is the greatest.

15. Suppose ‘+10’ represents 10 marks higher than the pass mark and ‘−10’ represents 10 marks
lower than the pass mark. The test marks of a group of 6 students are as follows:
+35, 0, −7, −19, +6, +24
Ivan claims that only 3 of them pass the test. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

Level Up Questions
16. Suppose the time after noon is positive, and the time before noon is negative.
(a) Describe the meaning of ‘0 hour’.
(b) Use directed numbers to represent the following situations.
(i) 3 p.m. (ii) 7 a.m.

17. How many integers can be represented by the points between −2 and +7 (excluding −2 and
+7) on a number line?