A football team tries to move the ball forward as many yards as possible on each play, but sometimes they end up behind where they started. The distances, in

yards, that a team moves on its first five plays are 2, -1, 4, 3, and --5. A positive

number indicates moving the ball forward, and a negative number indicates

moving the ball backward.

Which number in the list is the greatest?

What is a better question to ask to find out which play went the farthest from

where the team started?

The coach considers any play that moves the team more than 4 yards from where

they started a "big play." Which play(s) are big plays?

3 When does it make sense to compare the absolute values of numbers rather than

the numbers themselves?