LA CARLOTA CITY COLLEGE

City of La Carlota
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College of Education
TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES (GEN EDUC 28):
WHOLE NUMBERS

WHAT IS WHOLE NUMBER?

Whole numbers are a set of numbers including all natural numbers and 0. They are a part of real
numbers that do not include fractions, decimals, or negative numbers. Counting numbers are also
considered as whole numbers.

It is a collection of positive integers and zero. Or we can say that whole numbers are the set of
non-negative integers. The primary difference between natural (All positive integers to infinity) and
whole numbers is the presence of zero in the whole numbers.

PROPERTIES OF WHOLE NUMBER

Properties of whole numbers are defined to operate basic arithmetic operations such as addition
and multiplication, in an easy way. Applying these properties helps us to solve such Math problems
quickly, without even using calculators. Properties of whole numbers are:

1. Closure Property
2. Commutative Property of Addition and Multiplication
3. Associative Property of Addition and Multiplication
4. Distributive Property of Multiplication over Addition
5. Identity Property

A. CLOSURE PROPERTY

According to the Closure Property “Whole numbers are closed under addition and
multiplication”. It means, when we add or multiply two whole numbers, then the resulting value is also a
whole number.

If A and B are two whole numbers, then,

 Where W represents whole numbers.

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See some examples of closure property below:

Closure Property Of Addition Closure Property Of Multiplication

2+3=5 2x3=6

10 + 9 = 19 10 x 9 = 90

In the above examples, we can see, the resulting values such as 5, 6, 19 and 90 are also whole
numbers. Therefore, the closure property is closed under addition and multiplication.

Note:
 Closure property is not applicable for subtraction and division of whole numbers.
 Difference of two whole numbers cannot be necessarily a whole number.
 Division of two whole numbers cannot be necessarily a whole number.
 Division of a whole number by zero (0) is undefined.

B. COMMUTATIVE PROPERTY OF ADDITION AND MULTIPLICATION

According to the commutative property of whole numbers, if two whole numbers are added or
multiplied together, then the change in order of the numbers does not change the result. We can add or
multiply two whole numbers in any order.

If A and B are two whole numbers, then;

Examples are given below:

Commutativity Of Addition Commutativity Of Multiplication

3+5=5+3⇒8 3 x 5 = 5 x 3 ⇒ 15

4 + 6 = 6 + 4 ⇒ 10 4 x 6 = 6 x 4 ⇒ 24

As you can see from the above examples, even if we change the order of the numbers, the result
remains the same.

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 Note:
 Commutativity is not applicable for subtraction and division.
 Changing the order of numbers in subtraction, changes the result (Eg. 3 – 2 = 1, but 2 – 3 =
-1, therefore 3 – 2 ≠ 2 -3).
 Changing the order of numbers in division, changes the result (Eg. 10 ÷ 5 = 2, but 5 ÷ 10 =
0.5, therefore 10 ÷ 5 ≠ 5 ÷ 10).

C. ASSOCIATIVE PROPERTY OF ADDITION AND MULTIPLICATION

The associative property of addition and multiplication states that the regrouping of three whole
numbers does not change the result of their sum and product.

Let A, B and C are three whole numbers, then as per associativity:

A + (B + C) = (A + B) + C
A x (B x C) = (A x B) x C

We can understand the above two expressions, with the help of examples given below.

Associativity Of Addition Associativity Of Multiplication

(2 + 3) + 4 = 2 + (3 + 4) ⇒ 9 (2 x 3) x 4 = 2 x (3 x 4) ⇒ 24

(4 + 4) + 5 = 4 + (4 + 5) ⇒ 13 (4 x 4) x 5 = 4 x (4 x 5) ⇒ 80

From the above examples, we can see, the regrouping of the numbers does not change the actual
result.

Note:
 Associativity of subtraction and division of whole numbers does not exist.

D. DISTRIBUTIVE PROPERTY OF MULTIPLICATION OVER ADDITION

In this property, the multiplication is distributive over addition. It means, if A, B and C are three
whole numbers, then;

A x (B + C) = A x B + A x C

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Let us see the examples:

1. 6 × (5 + 3) = (6 × 5) + (6 × 3)
LHS = 6 × (5 + 3) = 6 × 8 = 48
RHS = (6 × 5) + (6 × 3) = 30 + 18 = 48
Hence, proved.

2. 7 × (11 + 9) = 7 × 11 + 7 × 9
LHS = 7 × (11 + 9) = 7 × 20 = 140
RHS = 7 × 11 + 7 × 9 = 77 + 63 = 140
Hence, proved.

E. IDENTITY PROPERTY (FOR ADDITION AND MULTIPLICATION)

The identity property of whole numbers for addition and multiplication states that:

W+0=W
Wx1=W
Where W is any whole number.

Thus, by the above given expression, we can conclude that, if zero is added to any whole number,
then the value of the original number does not change. Similarly, when we multiply any whole number
by 1, then the value of the actual number remains unchanged. Hence, identity property holds both for
addition and multiplication.

See some examples here:

Identity For Addition Identity For Multiplication

2+0=2 2x1=2

5+0=5 5x1=5

Therefore, 0 is the additive identity and 1 is the multiplicative identity of any whole number.

REFERENCES:

1. https://byjus.com/maths/properties-of-whole-numbers/
2. https://www.cuemath.com/numbers/whole-numbers/
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