Integer Sums for Class 6 — Free CBSE Worksheet PDF with Answers

Think about temperature. Delhi in December can drop to $2°C$. Shimla can go below zero to $-5°C$. That minus sign is not just decoration — it tells you the temperature is below freezing point. In Class 6 CBSE, integers extend the number line to the left of zero. You already know whole numbers $0, 1, 2, 3, \ldots$. Now you add their opposites $-1, -2, -3, \ldots$ to form the set of integers.

Integers show up everywhere: bank account balances, altitude above and below sea level, floors above and below ground in a lift, scores in games where you can lose points. Once you become comfortable plotting and computing with integers, you have unlocked one of the most important number systems in mathematics.

This worksheet has 60 questions across three levels. Level 1 covers identifying integers, ordering them, and plotting on the number line. Level 2 builds fluency with addition and subtraction. Level 3 introduces word problems and multi-step operations.

When two integers have the same sign, add their absolute values and keep the sign. So $(-4) + (-7) = -11$ (both negative, add 4 and 7, keep the minus). And $5 + 3 = 8$ (both positive, easy). When they have different signs, subtract the smaller absolute value from the larger and keep the sign of the larger absolute value. So $(-15) + 8$: difference is $15 - 8 = 7$, and $|-15| > |8|$, so the answer is $-7$.

On the number line, addition is movement to the right (adding positives) or left (adding negatives). Start at the first number, then move. Example: $-3 + 9$. Start at $-3$, move 9 steps right, land on $6$. Drawing a number line is the most reliable way to check your work when you are unsure.

Subtracting an integer is the same as adding its opposite. The opposite of $5$ is $-5$, and the opposite of $-3$ is $+3$. So $5 - (-3) = 5 + 3 = 8$. And $(-6) - (-11) = (-6) + 11 = 5$. This 'add the opposite' rule turns every subtraction into an addition, where you can apply the addition rules from the previous section.

Example: A submarine is at $-200$ m (200 m below sea level). It rises 75 m, then dives 40 m. Its new depth is $-200 + 75 - 40 = -200 + 75 + (-40) = -125 + (-40) = -165$ m. Real-world contexts like temperature change, bank balances, and altitude are very common in CBSE Class 6 word problems.

First, students often think subtracting a negative gives a smaller number. It does the opposite — $5 - (-3) = 8$, which is bigger than 5. Think of it as removing a debt. Second, adding two negatives is sometimes done as addition without sign tracking. $(-4) + (-7)$ is $-11$, not 11 or $-3$. Third, students mix up the minus sign in $8 - 3$ (subtraction) and the negative in $-3$ (sign). Fourth, when comparing negatives, $-7$ is less than $-3$ because it is further left on the number line. Fifth, the absolute value of an integer is its distance from zero — so $|-7| = 7$, never negative.