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For example, −3 represents a negative quantity with a magnitude of three, and is pronounced and read as "minus three" or "negative three". Conversely, a number that is greater than zero is called positive; zero is usually (but not always) thought of as neither positive nor negative. [2]
The plus and minus symbols are used to show the sign of a number. In mathematics, the sign of a real number is its property of being either positive, negative, or 0.Depending on local conventions, zero may be considered as having its own unique sign, having no sign, or having both positive and negative sign.
In chemistry, superscripted plus and minus signs are used to indicate an ion with a positive or negative charge of 1 (e.g., NH + 4 ). If the charge is greater than 1, a number indicating the charge is written before the sign (as in SO 2− 4 ).
When zero is a possibility, the following terms are often used: Non-negative numbers: Real numbers that are greater than or equal to zero. Thus a non-negative number is either zero or positive. Non-positive numbers: Real numbers that are less than or equal to zero. Thus a non-positive number is either zero or negative.
Signed zero is zero with an associated sign.In ordinary arithmetic, the number 0 does not have a sign, so that −0, +0 and 0 are equivalent. However, in computing, some number representations allow for the existence of two zeros, often denoted by −0 (negative zero) and +0 (positive zero), regarded as equal by the numerical comparison operations but with possible different behaviors in ...
The resultant sign from multiplication when both are positive or one is positive and the other is negative can be illustrated so long as one uses the positive factor to give the cardinal value to the implied repeated addition or subtraction operation, or in other words, -5 x 2 = -5 + -5 = -10, or 10 ÷ -2 = 10 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 = 0 (the ...
Zero divided by a negative or positive number is either zero or is expressed as a fraction with zero as numerator and the finite quantity as denominator. Zero divided by zero is zero. In 830, Mahāvīra unsuccessfully tried to correct the mistake Brahmagupta made in his book Ganita Sara Samgraha : "A number remains unchanged when divided by zero."
In modular arithmetic, the modular additive inverse of x is the number a such that a + x ≡ 0 (mod n) and always exists. For example, the inverse of 3 modulo 11 is 8, as 3 + 8 ≡ 0 (mod 11). [12] In a Boolean ring, which has elements {,} addition is often defined as the symmetric difference.