Positive and Negative Numbers Introduction

At one time or another, almost everyone has played Monopoly. What you probably didn’t realize was that the game consists of nothing but adding and subtracting numbers (and a little bit of luck!). You add the numbers on the dice to determine how many spaces to move your piece forward. You must also move your piece backwards when directed to do so.

Jose, Tony, and Lawanda have just begun a game of Monopoly. The chart below shows each of their first three turns. Who is farther around the board after three turns? How can you represent each player’s moves using integers?

Player

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turn 3

Jose

Rolls double 5s; rolls 9.

Rolls 6.

Rolls 11; Chance - go back 3

Tony

Rolls 3.

Rolls 4; Chance - advance to Illinois Ave. (forward 17)

Rolls 6 - Go directly to jail (back 20).

Lawanda

Rolls 6.

Rolls double 3s; rolls 7

Rolls 8.

Jose : (5 + 5) + 9 + 6 + 11 - 3 = _____ spaces forward.
Tony : 3 + 4 + 17 + 6 - 20 = _____ spaces forward.
Lawanda : 6 + (3 + 3) + 7 + 8 = _____ spaces forward.

Upon completion of the activities in this unit, you should be able to: