Grade 7 Adding Rational Numbers
Adding positive and negative rational numbers in grade 7 — integers, decimals and mixed numbers on one page. Twenty problems, free printable PDF.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Add. Watch the signs, and write each answer in simplest form.
- 1.-1 + 7 =
- 2.-8.9 + 1.3 =
- 3.-2 2/3 + (-1 1/6) =
- 4.-14 + 18 =
- 5.-1 1/6 + (-1 1/2) =
- 6.-19 + 4 =
- 7.1.9 + (-7.2) =
- 8.-3/5 + (-2 3/8) =
- 9.-7 + (-6) =
- 10.4.8 + 5.3 =
- 11.-2 1/6 + 2 2/3 =
- 12.13 + (-12) =
- 13.-8.3 + 2.4 =
- 14.-1 2/3 + (-1 7/10) =
- 15.3 + 19 =
- 16.5.6 + (-7.6) =
- 17.-3/4 + (-1/2) =
- 18.-2.6 + (-9.1) =
- 19.2/5 + (-2 7/10) =
- 20.12 + (-7) =
What this worksheet covers
Set A of this grade 7 drill sheet holds twenty integers problems on one printable page, with the answer key on the page behind it. Within that, eighteen of the twenty problems involve a negative quantity and several problems use mixed numbers, which have to be handled without dropping the whole-number part. Two problems from the middle of the page — "1.9 + (-7.2)" and "-1 2/3 + (-1 7/10)" — show the range. The sheet sits inside Common Core 7.NS.1, in the grade 7 The Number System strand.
Skills practised
At grade 7, integers is about adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing integers, and order of operations with signed numbers, and this sheet takes one slice of that. Specifically, the problems practise grade 7 Adding Rational Numbers. Concretely, the sheet tests whether a student can work in fractional units and give the answer in lowest terms, keep the decimal points aligned, and track direction as well as magnitude.
About the drill format
This drill runs 20 problems in a steady layout, so the eye never has to hunt for the next one; problem 7, "1.9 + (-7.2)" shows the level it holds. A page of one signed operation is where the sign rule stops being recited and starts being applied.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the original MathSheetLab worksheet; Sets B and C keep its structure and redraw the numbers, with each answer recomputed rather than copied. Where Set A's problem 11 is "-2 1/6 + 2 2/3", Set B's is "-1 5/6 + 6 2/3".
How to use this worksheet
Have the student estimate before computing, then compare. At grade 7 an integers answer that is wildly off should announce itself, and building that reflex matters as much as the twenty answers. Print Set B of this integers drill before writing on Set A; the same skill worked twice a week apart tells you far more than once.
One mistake to watch for
Adding a negative is treated as an error: -8 + 3 is answered 11 or -11. Watch problem 14 of this drill — "-1 2/3 + (-1 7/10)" — for this one.
The rule "addition makes things bigger" held for seven years and is being defended.
Work on a number line only, with no rules, until direction is automatic; introduce the sign shortcuts afterward.
Other grade 7 integers formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Timed Drill — Grade 7 Integers Timed Drill, 60 problems
- Missing Number — Grade 7 Integers Missing Number, 24 problems
- Mixed Review — Grade 7 Subtracting Rational Numbers, 20 problems
- Word Problems — 7.NS.3 — Rational Numbers in the Real World, 22 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Grade 6 Integers Drill — grade 6, 30 problems
- 8.EE.1 — Integer Exponents: Mixed Operations Practice — grade 8, 22 problems
Drill sheets in other grade 7 topics
Free to download, print and photocopy for a whole class: three drill sheets of grade 7 integers, twenty problems each, keys included.