Question

Order These following Greatest to least: -4, 5/8, 3 and -2.9

Answer 1

Answer: 3, then 5/8, then, -2.9, and finally -4.

Step-by-step explanation:

3 is the biggest positive integer in value, so that one is automatically first.

5/8 is the second-biggest positive number in value. It isn't a full number, considering it is a fraction, but it is a positive number nonetheless so that makes it larger in value than the last two:

-2.9 is the third-largest integer in value, leaving -4 as the smallest number in this sequence. I know, I know, you're probably like "but 4 is bigger than 2.9." Let me explain the logistics behind this.

When figuring out which number is larger and which is smaller with negative integers, you go by how far they are from 0 on a number line. -2.9 is 2.9 places from zero on a number line. This is called absolute value. Absolute value is defined as "how far a number is on a number line from zero." The absolute value of -4 is 4. (Absolute value is ALWAYS positive). As you can see from this simple observation, -4 is farther from -2.9 on a number line and is therefore less than -2.9. Using the absolute values of negative integers, classifying them from least to greatest or greatest to least is fairly easy. Hopefully this helped. :)

Answer 2

3, 5/8 , -2.9 , -4 from greatest to least!