Predict
Focus on negative five halves from the worked example.
Will it lie to the left or to the right of negative two?

Model
Use equal-length units on the number line. Zero is the origin.
Negative numbers lie to the left. A denominator of two divides each unit into two equal parts.
The minus sign applies to the whole fraction.

Work
Five halves is two and one half.
Negative five halves is the negative of the whole quantity, two and one half.
The source solution writes this as negative two and one half.
Start at zero and move two and one half units left.
The point is halfway between negative three and negative two.

Check Result
Choose negative seven fourths from the same lesson's first Try It.
Divide each unit into four equal parts. Decide where the point belongs before revealing the answer.
[Eight-second silent pause to work; the answer remains hidden.]
Seven fourths is one and three fourths. Its negative lies one and three fourths units left of zero.
The point is one fourth of a unit to the right of negative two, between negative two and negative one.

Interpret
Numbers increase as you move right.
Negative seven fourths is to the right of negative five halves, so negative seven fourths is greater.
This comparison is an authored interpretation of two source points.
The original questions contain other points. These diagrams are authored illustrations.