Mathematics: Whole Numbers

Mathematics : Whole Numbers

The set of whole numbers include the natural numbers and 0. 

Natural number, also called counting numbers, are 1, 2, 3, 4...There are other types of numbers.These are integers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, real numbers, and complex numbers.We will not cover these here, we will only focus on whole numbers in this unit, but be aware that they exist.Everybody counts, add or subtract on a daily basis from the time we started counting toys on the floor when we were 2 or 3 years old to when we count the cost of our groceries.A child counting cubes for instance may want to know how many cubes the following set has:

When we count, we use a number to represent a quantity. A number is an idea that we use to represent that quantityWe write the numbers down using symbols and these are called numerals.The numeral that we use to represent the set above is   4.When using numbers to count how many elements a set has, it is referred to as cardinal numbersFor instance, 4 or four is a cardinal number.Besides counting how many elements a set has, we use numbers to order objects :Our team is second in group A.I am fifty-sixth in line.The first president of the United States is George Washington.Numbers used in this way are called ordinal numbers.For example, first, second, and fifty-sixth are ordinal numbers.For cardinal numbers, we can use the symbol n(A) to represent the number of elements in a finite set AFor example, the set made of cubes has 4 elements. We can write n(cubes) = 4If A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, n(A) = 6Physical representations of numbersCubes can be used to represent numbers

1 cube: physical representation of 1

1 long : physical representation of 10 Made of 10 cubes.

1 flat : physical representation of 100 Made of 100 cubes.

1 block: physical representation of 1000 Made of 1000 cubes.

Let's say you have 4 blocks, 8 flats, 5 longs, and 8 cubes. What number is this?1 block represents 1000, so 4 blocks represent 40001 flat represents 100, so 8 flats represent 8001 long represents 10, so 5 longs represent 501 cube represents 1, so 8 cubes represent 84000 + 800 + 50 + 8 = 4858Knowing about operations with numbers can be an invaluable tool as we go about our daily routine.My goal is to help you discover the similarities among addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Before knowing how to add, subtract, multiply and so forth, it is important to understand place value.

Khorina G. Nava

Prof. Ed 7b Student