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In mathematics, a negative number is the opposite (mathematics) of a positive real number. [1] Equivalently, a negative number is a real number that is less than zero. Negative numbers are often used to represent the magnitude of a loss or deficiency. A debt that is owed may be thought of as a negative asset.
Negative numbers: Real numbers that are less than zero. Because zero itself has no sign, neither the positive numbers nor the negative numbers include zero. 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.
Historically the term was used for a number that was a multiple of 1, [10] [11] or to the whole part of a mixed number. [12] [13] Only positive integers were considered, making the term synonymous with the natural numbers. The definition of integer expanded over time to include negative numbers as their usefulness was recognized. [14]
Negative numbers are usually written with a negative sign (a minus sign). As an example, the negative of 7 is written −7, and 7 + (−7) = 0. When the set of negative numbers is combined with the set of natural numbers (including 0), the result is defined as the set of integers, Z also written .
A number is non-negative if it is greater than or equal to zero. A number is non-positive if it is less than or equal to zero. When 0 is said to be both positive and negative, [citation needed] modified phrases are used to refer to the sign of a number: A number is strictly positive if it is greater than zero. A number is strictly negative if ...
Sometimes, the whole numbers are the natural numbers plus zero. In other cases, the whole numbers refer to all of the integers , including negative integers. [ 3 ] The counting numbers are another term for the natural numbers, particularly in primary school education, and are ambiguous as well although typically start at 1.
The main kinds of numbers employed in arithmetic are natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, rational numbers, and real numbers. [12] The natural numbers are whole numbers that start from 1 and go to infinity. They exclude 0 and negative numbers.
Because of the rules of division of signed numbers (which states in part that negative divided by positive is negative), − 1 / 2 , −1 / 2 and 1 / −2 all represent the same fraction – negative one-half. And because a negative divided by a negative produces a positive, −1 / −2 represents positive one-half.