Free Grade 3 Working with Negative Numbers Worksheets
Free Grade 3 worksheets for Working with Negative Numbers: 12 real questions with a full answer key and worked solutions. Integers include negative numbers. On a number line, adding moves right and subtracting moves left. Subtracting a negative is the same as adding.
Free
Core
15 min
24
Learning objectives
Every objective is checkable, and each one maps to an activity and an assessment.
- UnderstandExplain working with negative numbers
Explain working with negative numbers accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- ApplyCalculate working with negative numbers
Calculate working with negative numbers accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- AnalyseCompare working with negative numbers
Compare working with negative numbers accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
- EvaluateJustify working with negative numbers
Justify working with negative numbers accurately in a familiar context.
Assessed by: Exit ticket of four short items
Prerequisites
Close these gaps first — each has its own free lesson, worksheet and quiz.
How Working with Negative Numbers works
Integers include negative numbers. On a number line, adding moves right and subtracting moves left. Subtracting a negative is the same as adding.
12 practice questions
Easy to hard, 24 marks in total. Try them first, then open the answers.
- 1.7 − (-1) = ?[1]
- 2.-6 + (-1) = ?[1]
- 3.-5 + 0 = ?[1]
- 4.-7 − (-1) = ?[1]
- 5.-19 − (-4) = ?[2]
- 6.-8 + 15 = ?[2]
- 7.-18 + (-8) = ?[2]
- 8.-20 + 10 = ?[2]
- 9.-15 − 1 = ?[3]
- 10.10 − (-3) = ?[3]
- 11.9 + (-7) = ?[3]
- 12.-12 − 28 = ?[3]
Show answers and working
1. 8
Subtracting (-1) is the same as adding 1. 7 + 1 = 8
2. -7
Start at -6 on a number line. Move 1 left. You land on -7.
3. -5
Start at -5 on a number line. Move 0 right. You land on -5.
4. -6
Subtracting (-1) is the same as adding 1. -7 + 1 = -6
5. -15
Subtracting (-4) is the same as adding 4. -19 + 4 = -15
6. 7
Start at -8 on a number line. Move 15 right. You land on 7.
7. -26
Start at -18 on a number line. Move 8 left. You land on -26.
8. -10
Start at -20 on a number line. Move 10 right. You land on -10.
9. -16
Subtracting 1 is the same as adding -1. -15 + (-1) = -16
10. 13
Subtracting (-3) is the same as adding 3. 10 + 3 = 13
11. 2
Start at 9 on a number line. Move 7 left. You land on 2.
12. -40
Subtracting 28 is the same as adding -28. -12 + (-28) = -40
Worked examples
-8 + 10 = ?
- Start at -8 on a number line.
- Move 10 right.
- You land on 2.
- Answer: 2
-16 + (-19) = ?
- Start at -16 on a number line.
- Move 19 left.
- You land on -35.
- Answer: -35
18 + 23 = ?
- Start at 18 on a number line.
- Move 23 right.
- You land on 41.
- Answer: 41
Interactive practice
Free, no account required — answer on screen or print it.
Common mistakes
What learners typically get wrong, and how to fix it.
Thinks −8 is bigger than −3.
Correction: Further left on the number line means smaller.
Treats − (−4) as −4.
Correction: Two minus signs together become a plus.
Teacher tips
- · Use a vertical number line like a thermometer.
Parent tips
- · Compare winter temperatures from the weather forecast.
Real-life applications
- · Temperatures below zero, bank balances, floors below ground.
Assessment objectives
How mastery is evidenced, and which standards it maps to.
Every free resource for Working with Negative Numbers
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Frequently asked
- Is this Grade 3 Working with Negative Numbers worksheet really free?
- Yes. Every worksheets on FreeMathWorksheet is free to use, print and share — no account, no paywall and no watermark.
- What should a learner already know before this?
- Start with Introducing Negative Numbers, Number Formation. Each one has its own free lesson, worksheet and quiz.
- How is the worksheet sequenced?
- Recognition first, then understanding, application, reasoning and finally mastery — the same ladder used across every free resource on the platform.
- What comes next after Working with Negative Numbers?
- Move on to Negative Numbers in Context, Integer Number Line, Adding Integers, Subtracting Integers, which build directly on this idea.
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