Grade 7 · Math

7th grade Subtract positive and negative whole numbers worksheet

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Subtract positive and negative whole numbers

Grade 7 Math Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

Kira balances a math puzzle on the scales. What is (-14) - 9?
Luz rings a bell for a bonus question. What is 17 - (-8)?
Use the picture in question 1.
Milo draws a challenge card from the jar. What is (-12) - (-20)?
Use the picture in question 1.
Noah writes the next problem on the board. What is 21 - 34?
Use the picture in question 1.
Pia rewrites a subtraction from the math book as an addition: (-9) - (-16) = (-9) + ?. What number goes in place of the ?
Tala rewrites a puzzle as an addition: (-15) - 8 = (-15) + ?. What number goes in place of the ?
Use the picture in question 5.
A penguin dives to -18 m, while its friend stands on an ice shelf 7 m above the water. Milo asks how far apart the two are. What is the distance in meters?
Noah's tent is at -12 m and a desert trail starts at -30 m (below sea level is negative). How far is the tent from the trail start?
Zee learns that distance is the absolute value of a difference. What is |(-20) - 12|, the distance between -20 and 12?
Bo rings a bell for the next distance question. What is |5 - 23|, the distance between 5 and 23?

7th grade Subtract positive and negative whole numbers worksheet – printable — Print: 1 2 3 4 5 6

About this worksheet

Subtract positive and negative whole numbers. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

I can rewrite a subtraction as adding the opposite, and use it to work out answers like 6 - (-3).
I can find the distance between two numbers on the number line, and say why it is never negative.
I can say what a negative or positive difference means in a story.

Standard: 7.NS.A.1c

Words to know

opposite: The number the same distance from 0 on the other side, like 3 and -3.

additive inverse: The school name for an opposite: a number that adds with it to 0.

difference: The answer to subtracting: how far the first number is from the second.

distance: How far apart two numbers are on the number line. Never negative.

change: Later value minus earlier value. Negative means it went down.

Common mistakes

Your child changed the minus to a plus but kept the second number as it was. Try: 5 - (-3) is the same as 5 + 3. Ask why the sign of the second number flips.

Your child got the right size but the wrong sign.

Your child flipped the first number instead of the one after the minus sign.

What to say

Ask: after the last move on the number line, are you left or right of 0?

Ask: which number comes right after the minus sign?

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with subtract positive and negative whole numbers?

Your child changed the minus to a plus but kept the second number as it was. Try: 5 - (-3) is the same as 5 + 3. Ask why the sign of the second number flips.

Are these 7th grade math worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 7 math

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