What are Numbers?

We count things or objects using numbers. The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4,5, … are called counting numbers or natural numbers. There are different types of numbers, such as integers, whole numbers, rational numbers, real numbers, etc. The counting numbers or natural numbers, along with zero, forms the set of whole numbers. 

In this blog, we are going to explore whole numbers and integers in detail.

Prime Numbers and Composite Numbers

Numbers that are only divisible by one and themselves are known as prime numbers. While numbers that are divisible by numbers other than 1 are composite numbers.

Fun Facts :

• Just as natural numbers extend infinitely to the right of 0, numbers are extending infinitely to the left of 0 as well. These numbers are called negative numbers.
• The negative numbers, along with the whole numbers, are called integers.
• Negative numbers are used to measure climatic temperature, depth, loss, fever, etc.

Even and Odd Numbers

A number that is divisible by the number 2 and generates a remainder of 0 is called an even number. An odd number is a number that is not divisible by the number 2. The remainder in the case of an odd number is always the number 1. The property by which we can classify an integer in mathematics as even or odd numbers is also known as parity.

Fun Facts:

• Each alternate number in the counting series is an even number starting from 2 and an odd number starting from 1.
• The number Zero is an even number.
• Ancient Greeks used shapes with an odd number of sides to represent other odd numbers.
• Pythagoreans used the term “gnomon” for the odd numbers in the past.

What are Whole numbers?

The whole numbers are part of the number system, which comprises all the positive numbers from 0 to infinity. These numbers are an essential part of the number line. Hence, they are all existing real numbers. We can say that all the whole numbers are real numbers, although not all the real numbers are whole numbers. The absolute set of natural numbers along with ‘0’ are called whole numbers. The examples are: 0, 11, 25, 36, 999, 1500, etc.

These numbers are positive integers, including zero, and they do not include fractional or decimal parts at all. Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, division, and all other mathematical operations are possible because of whole numbers.

The symbol to represent whole numbers is with the alphabet ‘W’ in the capital letter.

W = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 45, 8, 9, 1000,…

Fun facts 

• All-natural numbers are whole numbers.
• All the counting numbers are whole numbers.
• All the positive integers, including zero, are whole numbers.
• All the whole numbers are real numbers.

What are Integers?

Integers are the numbers that can be positive, negative, or zero, but they cannot be a fraction. Integers are used to perform different arithmetic operations, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The examples of integers are, 1, 7, 5,8, -9, -12, etc. The symbol of integers is “Z. “

The Rules of Integers

Rules stated for integers are:

• Sum of two positive integers: integer
• Sum of two negative integers: integer
• Product of two positive integers: integer
• Product of two negative integers: integer
• The Sum of an integer and its given inverse is equal to zero.
• Product of a given integer and its reciprocal is equal to 1

Conclusion 

The basics of number skills are useful in later grades for practicing math, science, and programming. Numbers help build a solid foundation of math and numbering systems. One can learn more numbers through Cuemath which is an online learning platform. Cuemath helps students explore concepts in an interesting and engaging way.