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Representing numbers on number line

Class 1 Class 2 CBSE UP Board

📘 What's inside:

Concept 1 — What is a Number Line?

A number line is a straight line on which numbers are placed at equal distances from each other. We use it to show numbers, count, and compare values easily.

▶ Parts of a Number Line
  • It is a straight horizontal line drawn from left to right.
  • Numbers increase as we move to the right (→).
  • Numbers decrease as we move to the left (←).
  • Each number sits on a small vertical mark called a tick mark.
  • The gap between any two neighbouring numbers is always equal.
  • An arrow at the right end shows the line continues forward.
Number line from 0 to 10 — equal gaps, tick marks and right-pointing arrow
⚠ Remember

The gaps between numbers must always be equal. If the gaps are unequal, the number line is drawn incorrectly.

▶ Solved Example 1
Look at the number line. Answer:
(a) Which number is at the 5th tick mark?
(b) Which direction do larger numbers go?
(c) What does the right-end arrow mean?
  1. aCount tick marks from 0: 1st=1, 2nd=2, 3rd=3, 4th=4, 5th=5. The number at the 5th tick = 5.
  2. bLarger numbers are always to the right (→).
  3. cThe arrow means the number line continues beyond 10 — numbers never end.
(a) 5   (b) Numbers grow to the right   (c) The line continues beyond what is shown
▶ Solved Example 2
A number line starts at 0. The 8th tick mark represents which number? Name the number just before it and just after it.
  1. 1Counting from 0: 1st tick=1, 2nd=2 … 8th tick = 8.
  2. 2The number just before 8 (one step left) = 7.
  3. 3The number just after 8 (one step right) = 9.
8th tick = 8  |  Just before: 7  |  Just after: 9

✍ Practice — Concept 1

Q1 On a number line, which number is 3 steps to the right of 4? ▼
Answer
Starting at 4, move 3 steps right:
Step 1 → 5   Step 2 → 6   Step 3 → 7
Answer: 7
Q2 True or False: On a number line, 12 is to the left of 9. ▼
Answer
False.
Numbers increase to the right. 12 > 9, so 12 is to the right of 9.
Q3 What number is exactly in the middle of 6 and 10? ▼
Answer
Between 6 and 10: 7, 8, 9.   8 is 2 steps from each end.
Answer: 8

Concept 2 — Marking a Given Number on a Number Line

We can locate and mark any number on a number line by counting the tick marks from 0.

▶ How to Mark a Number
  • Start from 0 on the left.
  • Count tick marks one at a time to the right.
  • Stop when you reach the number you want.
  • Place a filled dot on that tick mark and write the number above it.
▶ Solved Example 3
Mark the number 7 on a number line from 0 to 10.
  1. 1Draw a number line from 0 to 10 with equal gaps.
  2. 2Count tick marks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
  3. 3Place a filled dot at the 7th mark and write 7 above it.
7 is marked with a filled dot at the 7th position from 0.
▶ Solved Example 4
Mark 3, 7 and 11 on a number line from 0 to 15.
  1. 1Draw a number line 0 to 15.
  2. 2Count to 3 → place a gold dot.
  3. 3Count to 7 → place a cyan dot.
  4. 4Count to 11 → place a green dot.
Three numbers marked: 3 (gold)   7 (cyan)   11 (green)

✍ Practice — Concept 2

Q4 Mark the number 9 on a number line from 0 to 12. ▼
Answer
Count 9 tick marks from 0. Place a filled dot at the 9th mark.
9 is marked at the 9th position.
Q5 Which number is 4 places to the left of 13? ▼
Answer
Start at 13, move 4 steps left:
13 → 12 → 11 → 10 → 9
Answer: 9

Concept 3 — Counting Forward on a Number Line

Counting forward means moving to the right. Every jump of 1 to the right adds 1 to the number.

▶ Rule
  • Start at the given number.
  • Jump to the right, one step at a time.
  • Each jump increases the number by 1.
  • Count the jumps — the landing number is the answer.
▶ Solved Example 5
Start at 3. Count forward 4 steps. Where do you land?
  1. 1Start at 3. Mark it.
  2. 2Jump right → land on 4.
  3. 3Jump right → land on 5.
  4. 4Jump right → land on 6.
  5. 5Jump right → land on 7. That is 4 jumps total.
Starting at 3, after 4 forward jumps we land on 7.  (3 + 4 = 7)
▶ Solved Example 6
Meena has 6 sweets. Her mother gives her 5 more. Show on a number line and find the total.
  1. 1Mark 6 on the number line.
  2. 2Jump 5 steps right for the 5 new sweets.
  3. 36 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → 11.
Meena has 11 sweets in total.  (6 + 5 = 11)

✍ Practice — Concept 3

Q6 Start at 5. Count forward 6 steps. Where do you land? ▼
Answer
5 → 6 → 7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → 11
Answer: 11  (5 + 6 = 11)
Q7 Raju had 8 marbles. He found 4 more. Use a number line to find how many he has now. ▼
Answer
8 → 9 → 10 → 11 → 12
Raju now has 12 marbles.  (8 + 4 = 12)
Q8 Start at 9 and take 7 forward jumps. What number do you reach? ▼
Answer
9 → 10 → 11 → 12 → 13 → 14 → 15 → 16
Answer: 16  (9 + 7 = 16)

Concept 4 — Counting Backward on a Number Line

Counting backward means moving to the left. Every jump of 1 to the left subtracts 1 from the number.

▶ Rule
  • Start at the given number.
  • Jump to the left, one step at a time.
  • Each jump decreases the number by 1.
  • Count the jumps — the landing number is the answer.
▶ Solved Example 7
Start at 10. Count backward 4 steps. Where do you land?
  1. 1Start at 10. Mark it.
  2. 2Jump left → land on 9.
  3. 3Jump left → land on 8.
  4. 4Jump left → land on 7.
  5. 5Jump left → land on 6. That is 4 jumps total.
Starting at 10, after 4 backward jumps we land on 6.  (10 − 4 = 6)
▶ Solved Example 8
Tina had 14 chocolates. She ate 5. Show on a number line. How many are left?
  1. 1Mark 14 on the number line.
  2. 2Jump 5 steps left for the 5 chocolates eaten.
  3. 314 → 13 → 12 → 11 → 10 → 9.
Tina has 9 chocolates left.  (14 − 5 = 9)

✍ Practice — Concept 4

Q9 Start at 12. Count backward 5 steps. Where do you land? ▼
Answer
12 → 11 → 10 → 9 → 8 → 7
Answer: 7  (12 − 5 = 7)
Q10 Sunita had 15 stickers. She gave 6 to her friend. Use a number line to find how many she has left. ▼
Answer
15 → 14 → 13 → 12 → 11 → 10 → 9
Sunita has 9 stickers left.  (15 − 6 = 9)
Q11 A frog sits on 18 and jumps 8 steps backward. On which number does it land? ▼
Answer
18 → 17 → 16 → 15 → 14 → 13 → 12 → 11 → 10
The frog lands on 10.  (18 − 8 = 10)
★ Remember
  • A number line goes left to right. Numbers grow to the right.
  • Forward jumps = move right = addition.
  • Backward jumps = move left = subtraction.
  • All gaps between tick marks must be equal.

Concept 5 — Skip Counting on a Number Line (by 2s, 5s and 10s)

Instead of jumping one step at a time, we can make bigger equal jumps. This is called skip counting.

▶ Types of Skip Counting
  • By 2s — jump of 2 each time. Lands on 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 …
  • By 5s — jump of 5 each time. Lands on 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 …
  • By 10s — jump of 10 each time. Lands on 10, 20, 30, 40 …

Skip counting by 2s from 0 to 20:

Skip counting by 5s from 0 to 50:

Skip counting by 10s from 0 to 100:

▶ Solved Example 9
Show skip counting by 2s starting from 4. Write the first 5 numbers you land on.
  1. 1Start at 4. Each jump = 2 steps.
  2. 2Jump 2 right → 6.
  3. 3Jump 2 right → 8.
  4. 4Jump 2 right → 10.
  5. 5Jump 2 right → 12.
Counting by 2s from 4: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
▶ Solved Example 10
Show skip counting by 5s starting from 0. Write the first 6 numbers you land on.
  1. 1Start at 0. Each jump = 5 steps.
  2. 2Jump 5 → 5.
  3. 3Jump 5 → 10.
  4. 4Jump 5 → 15.
  5. 5Jump 5 → 20.
  6. 6Jump 5 → 25.
Counting by 5s from 0: 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

✍ Practice — Concept 5

Q12 Count by 2s starting from 0. Write the first 8 numbers you land on. ▼
Answer
0 → 2 → 4 → 6 → 8 → 10 → 12 → 14
Answer: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14
Q13 Count by 10s from 0 to 100. How many jumps do you take? ▼
Answer
0 → 10 → 20 → 30 → 40 → 50 → 60 → 70 → 80 → 90 → 100
Total jumps = 10
Q14 Arjun counts by 5s starting from 20. Write the next 5 numbers he will say. ▼
Answer
20 → 25 → 30 → 35 → 40 → 45
Answer: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45
★ Remember — Skip Counting
  • By 2s → 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 … (all even numbers).
  • By 5s → 5, 10, 15, 20 … (always ends in 0 or 5).
  • By 10s → 10, 20, 30 … 100 (always ends in 0).
  • Every jump on a number line is an equal-sized arch above the line.

Exam Style — Full Topic

5 Questions on Number Lines

Q1 Mark the numbers 4, 9 and 15 on a number line from 0 to 20. Which is the largest? Which is the smallest? ▼
Answer
On a number line, numbers to the right are larger.
Largest: 15 (furthest right)   Smallest: 4 (furthest left)
Q2 Take 6 forward jumps from 7. Where do you land? Write the addition sentence. ▼
Answer
7 → 8 → 9 → 10 → 11 → 12 → 13
7 + 6 = 13
Q3 Rohan is at 16. He takes 7 backward jumps. Where does he land? Write the subtraction sentence. ▼
Answer
16 → 15 → 14 → 13 → 12 → 11 → 10 → 9
16 − 7 = 9
Q4 Fill in the missing numbers (skip by 5s): 15, ___, ___, 30, ___, 40. ▼
Answer
15 → 20 → 25 → 30 → 35 → 40
Missing numbers: 20, 25, 35
Q5 A shopkeeper had 50 biscuits. He now has 30. How many did he sell? Show on a number line using backward jumps of 10. ▼
Answer
50 → 40 → 30 — 2 jumps of 10.
2 × 10 = 20
The shopkeeper sold 20 biscuits.  (50 − 20 = 30)
📄 Free Worksheet

Practise number lines, forward and backward jumps, and skip counting with our free printable worksheet. Class 1 and Class 2 levels. No login required.

► Open Free Worksheet
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