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Abstract
The number line is an aid frequently used in the teaching of mathematics. One of the justifications for its use is that it encourages the formation of an internalized mental number line image, and hence aids arithmetical facility. This reasoning raises several questions. How prevalent are mental number lines? What is their relation to arithmetical facility? What other factors are relevant, such as sex and the ability to form spatially extended images? This study investigates these questions for a sample of adult academics. In the sample a high degree of correlation between the possession of a mental number line and arithmetical facility is found.