Question

What means whole number

Answer 1

A whole number is a member of the set {0,1, 2, 3, …}. It is either one of the positive integers (natural numbers) or zero.

The set of whole numbers is exactly equivalent to the set of non negative integers.

Examples of Whole Numbers

Some examples of whole numbers are 4, 5, and 89,453,711.

Any fraction, decimal, negative number or imaginary number is not a whole number. For example, -5, 6.788, and 4/5 are not whole numbers.

The Set of Whole Numbers

The set of whole numbers is closed under addition and multiplication. What that means is that for all whole numbers a and b, a + b = c and a b = d will also be whole numbers.

Just as 6 + 7 = 13 and 6 · 7 = 42 are whole numbers, the sum or product of any two whole numbers will also be whole.