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.
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
This is a 20-problem sheet — one page to work through, one page of answers to check against. What makes this set particular: eighteen of the twenty problems involve a negative quantity, so the answer is not always larger than what went in; where fractions appear the denominators do not match, so those problems have to be rewritten over a common denominator first. Grade 7, The Number System, Common Core 7.NS.1: that is the exact slot this page fills.
Skills practiced
At this point in the sequence, work in addition is really about signed rational numbers and scientific notation. Working the page asks a student to find a common denominator before combining anything, keep decimal points aligned rather than right-aligning digits out of habit, and track direction as well as magnitude. Watch how the answers are reached, not just whether they land — the method is what carries into grade 8.
How to use this worksheet
Have the student estimate before computing, then compare. At this level an answer that is wildly off should announce itself, and building that reflex matters as much as the twenty answers themselves. Print a second copy before writing on the first; a sheet worked twice a week apart tells you far more than a sheet worked once.
One mistake to watch for
Adding a negative is treated as an error: -8 + 3 is answered as 11 or -11.
The rule "addition makes things bigger" held for seven years and is being defended, or a half-remembered sign rule is being applied to the wrong operation.
Work on a number line only, with no rules at all, until direction is automatic. Introduce the sign shortcuts afterward as a description of what the student already sees.
Related worksheets
Also aligned to 7.NS.1
Other sheets covering 7.NS.1. Same target, different problems, so a student who has seen this page has not seen these.
- Grade 7 Subtracting Rational Numbers — grade 7, 20 problems
A step either side
Where this skill comes from and where it goes next. Drop back a grade when the page stalls; move up when it does not.
- Grade 6 Adding Multi-Digit Decimals — grade 6, 16 problems
- Grade 8 Adding Numbers in Scientific Notation — grade 8, 16 problems
No sign-up and no paywall — download the addition sheet, print it, and the answers for all twenty problems are on the page behind it.