ok so immagine a number line
in the middle is zero
to the left ot zero is negative
to the right of zero is positivee
the farther to the right you are, the bigger you are
the farther to the left you are,the smaller you are
negative means like backwards
so -5 and -17
which would you go farther back?
-5 or -17?
5 steps back or 17 steps back
answer is 17 steps back or -17 steps
it goes farther to the left
answer is -17