Why is a negative number an integer?

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So I was in the shower listening to a podcast where one of the host brought up the word integer.

I feintly remembered what an integer is from grade 7 but just to double check I googled it.

Google stated: “An **integer** (from the Latin **integer** meaning “whole”) is colloquially defined as a number that can be written without a fractional component. For example, 21, 4, 0, and **−2048** are **integers”**

I get the basic idea that it’s a whole but why are negative numbers considered an integer? 1 is a whole thing, if you have a whole pizza you have 1 whole pizza that can be divided into slices, but it can’t go less than 1, so if you have a 0 that’s the lowest it goes because there is nothing and any negative number is a theoretical number.

If 0 and anything lower than zero is less than 1, how can it be a whole if it is less than a whole? 0 is the lowest possible number that can divide into every number because nothing is taken away, you can divide with negative numbers but you can also divide with fractions so that doesn’t prove negative numbers as integers. If an negative number is less than a whole because it’s less than zero I feel like that should define it as a fraction.

I feel really silly for making that statement but the more I think about it the more confused I feel i’m making myself, does anyone have any answers?

In: Mathematics

12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

> An integer (from the Latin integer meaning “whole”) is colloquially defined as a number that can be written without a fractional component.

What is the fractional component of -1?

Nowhere.

Ergo, it satisfies the definition criteria, and is an integer.

The same cannot be said about -1.456, because you can see that -0.456 fractional right there.

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