Reading thermometer scales that extend below zero, correctly identifying negative temperature values, and ordering temperatures from coldest to warmest including negatives.
Where your child meets this in real life: Reading freezer thermometers, weather reports during cold spells, comparing winter temperatures across cities
Each SEAG paper has 28 maths questions. Questions 29 to 50 are multiple choice with five possible answers, and questions 51 to 56 need a short written answer. With 56 questions in 60 minutes across English and maths, that is about a minute per question.
SEAGReady breaks read and order negative temperatures into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Read thermometer scales that show negative temperatures, counting down from zero
Building block, not tested on its own
Order a set of negative temperatures from coldest to warmest
Building block, not tested on its own
Order temperatures that include both positive and negative values
Try three free questions from our read and order negative temperatures course. They start easy and get harder, so you can see where your child's confidence runs out. If they manage the last one without a hint, this topic is probably secure. If not, the steps above show where to start.
Sean checks the outdoor dial thermometer shown on a cold February morning. Its scale is marked in 2s. What temperature does it show?
Four lift-station temperatures are plotted on the number line. Put them in order from coldest to warmest.
A garden centre displays the ideal storage temperatures in the table. Oliver wants a plant stored at exactly 5 degrees below the Roses’ temperature. Which plant matches?
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Rosie checks the outdoor thermometer on a frosty January morning. The scale is marked in 2s and the liquid is 3 marks below zero.
What temperature does the thermometer show?
0 - (3 x 2)
Each mark on the thermometer represents 2 degrees
Step 1 of 4
Rosie checks the outdoor thermometer on a frosty January morning. The scale is marked in 2s and the liquid is 3 marks below zero.
What temperature does the thermometer show?
The thermometer shows -6°C.
The key insight: Below zero, the numbers get more negative as you go further down - just like going deeper into a freezer!
Common mix-up: Reading -6°C as 6°C. Forgetting the minus sign means you've ignored that the temperature is below freezing.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in read and order negative temperatures, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with read and order negative temperatures? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
Sitting the SEAG test this November? Read our last-month revision plan, Paper 1 vs Paper 2 and test day guide.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.
Free to start · no card needed