Interpret negative numbers in context 5 - Reasoning

In a reasoning exercise involving negative numbers, students Zach and Esin compare temperatures from two different cities to determine which one was warmer. Zach, living in Stockholm, reports that the highest temperature on January 1st was -3 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, Esin, who resides in Moscow, indicates that the highest temperature in her city on the same day was -8 degrees Celsius. To deduce which city experienced warmer weather, one must understand that when dealing with negative numbers, a number closer to zero is higher. Therefore, Stockholm was warmer than Moscow on January 1st because -3 is less negative and thus higher on the temperature scale than -8.

The concept here is that negative numbers represent values less than zero, and when comparing two negative temperatures, the one with the smaller absolute value is actually warmer. In this context, -3 degrees Celsius signifies a temperature that is 3 degrees below zero, while -8 degrees Celsius is 8 degrees below zero. Since -3 is closer to the zero mark, it is warmer than -8. This example illustrates how negative numbers can be interpreted in real-world contexts, such as comparing temperatures in different cities during winter.