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An
integer
(pronounced IN-tuh-jer)
is a whole number that can be positive, negative, or zero.
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Examples of
integers
are
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Negative whole
numbers |
-4 |
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Positive whole
numbers |
1 |
| Zero |
0 |
| An integer
cannot be: |
| A fraction | 4/1, 2/3 | | A decimal | 1.25, .333... |
| Even
though 4/1 has the same numerical value as 4, it is not an integer
because it is written as a fraction. |
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 Another
way to represent
integers is to show them on a
number line. Each number on the line below is an
integer. You can go all
the way to infinity on both the positive and negative side. (But we
don't have room for that here.)
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Negative Numbers
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Positive Numbers
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-3 |
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-2 |
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-1 |
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0 |
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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The last thing you need to know about integers
is another way to explain them. It's easy to remember that
integers
include positive whole numbers. The easiest way to remember that it
includes the negative numbers is to remember that for every positive
number, you have a opposite negative number. This is called the
additive
inverse of the positive number. The positive number and its additive
inverse always add to zero.
| Positive number |
Additive inverse |
Adds to: |
| 1 |
-1 |
1 + -1 = 0 |
| 100 |
-100 |
100 + -100 = 0 |
| 4 |
-4 |
4 + -4 = 0 |
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