Negative numbers typing practice
Keep signs attached to their values while switching between positive, negative and zero measurements in a fictional reading log.
Preview this exercise · 14 words · 51 characters
-2 7 -14 0 -8 23 -0.5 4.2 -16.75 9 -31 12 -4.0 0.25
Type the displayed passage in order. Backspace corrects the last character. Paste is disabled. Escape pauses. Control or Command plus Enter restarts. Leaving the input pauses the timer.
How to practise negative numbers
Treat the minus sign as part of the value. The short hyphen character in these samples stands in for the typed minus used by many plain-text forms. Do not substitute a longer dash. Scan for a sign first, then copy the digits and any decimal point. Nothing here requires a mathematical calculation.
What to check after a run
A missing sign changes the meaning even if every digit is right. Review sign errors separately from digit substitutions, and keep the space between values rather than inside a signed number.
Read the three original exercises
Preview the exact targets before choosing a run. Counts include spaces and punctuation after whitespace normalisation.
1. Find the pattern
-2 7 -14 0 -8 23 -0.5 4.2 -16.75 9 -31 12 -4.0 0.25
2. Connect the movement
Reading A: -3.5. Reading B: 6.0. Reading C: -0.8. The practice log changes from -12 to 12, then from 5 to -5.
3. Apply it in context
Copy the fictional sensor values in their original order: -4.25, 0.00, 8.50, -8.05 and 14.75. The note beside the final reading says -1.50. Check that the sign belongs to that final value before finishing the entry.
Original practice lesson added 26 October 2026. Educational transcription practice; no professional assessment or qualification.