Natural number definition with examples
A natural number is any positive integer, including 1. The set of natural numbers is closed under the addition operation if two natural numbers are added together, the result is another. For example, 3 + 5 = 8. The set of natural numbers is not closed under the multiplication operation; if two natural numbers are multiplied together, the result is not necessarily a natural number.
What is a natural number?
A natural number is a positive integer that is not negative. Examples of natural numbers include 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Natural numbers can also be zero, but they cannot be negative. Natural numbers are a part of the number system, including all the positive numbers from 1 to infinity. Natural numbers are also called counting numbers because they do not include zero or negative numbers.
Examples of natural numbers
- The number of wholes, positive numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
- The number of counting numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
- The number of whole numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
- The number of positive integers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
Smallest Natural Number
The smallest natural number is 1. We know that the smallest element in N is 1 and that for every element in N, we can talk about the next element in terms of 1 and N (which is 1 more than that element). For example, two is one more than one, three is one more than two, and so on.
Natural Numbers from 1 to 100
The natural numbers from 1 to 100 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99 and 100.
Is 0 a Natural Number?
No, 0 is NOT a natural number because natural numbers are counting numbers. For counting any number of objects, we start counting from 1 and not from 0.
Why are natural numbers important?
Natural numbers are important because they help us understand the world around us. They are the building blocks of our mathematical system and allow us to make predictions. Natural numbers also have applications in physics and engineering.
How to use natural numbers in mathematical operations
Natural numbers are the most basic numbers we use in mathematics. They are the counting numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and so on. We can use natural numbers in mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Addition:
To add two natural numbers, we simply add the numbers together. For example, to add 6 and 3, we would calculate 6 + 3 = 9.
Subtraction:
To subtract one natural number from another, we take the first number away from the second number. For example, to subtract 3 from 6, we would calculate 6 – 3 = 3.
Multiplication:
To multiply two natural numbers, we simply multiply the numbers together. For example, to multiply 6 and 3, we would calculate 6 x 3 = 18.
Division:
To divide one natural number by another, we take the first number and divide it by the second number. For example, to divide 6 by 3, we would calculate 6 ÷ 3 = 2.
Natural Numbers and Whole Numbers
The set of whole numbers is the same as the set of natural numbers, except that it includes an additional number which is 0. The set of whole numbers in Mathematics is written as {0,1,2,3,…}. It is denoted by the letter, W.
W = {0,1,2,3,4…}
From the above definitions, we can understand that every natural number is a whole number. Also, every whole number other than 0 is a natural number. We can say that the set of natural numbers is a subset of the set of whole numbers.
First 10 Natural Numbers
Natural numbers are counting numbers that start from 1. So, the first 10 natural numbers are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
Every Natural Number is a Whole Number. True or False?
Every natural number is a whole number. The statement is true because natural numbers are the positive integers that start from 1 and goes till infinity whereas whole numbers also include all the positive integers along with 0.
Solved Examples
Question 1: Sort out the natural numbers from the following list: 20, 1555, 63.99, 5/2, 60, −78, 0, −2, −3/2
Solution: Natural numbers from the above list are 20, 1555 and 60.
Question 2: What are the first 10 natural numbers?
Solution: The first 10 natural numbers on the number line are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Question 3: Is the number 0 a natural number?
Solution: 0 is not a natural number. It is a whole number. Natural numbers only include positive integers.
Frequently Asked Questions on Natural Numbers
What are Natural Numbers?
Natural numbers are the positive integers or non-negative integers which start from 1 and ends at infinity, such as:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,……,∞.
Is 0 a Natural Number?
Zero does not have a positive or negative value. Since all the natural numbers are positive integers, hence we cannot say zero is a natural number. Although zero is called a whole number.
What are the first ten Natural Numbers?
The first ten natural numbers are: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and 10.
What is the difference between Natural numbers and Whole numbers?
Natural numbers include only positive integers and starts from 1 till infinity. Whereas whole numbers are the combination of zero and natural numbers, as it starts from 0 and ends at infinite value.
What are the examples of Natural numbers?
The examples of natural numbers are 5, 7, 21, 24, 99, 101, etc.
Conclusion
Natural numbers are a part of our everyday lives and understanding their definition is key to using them correctly. In this article, we looked at the meaning of natural numbers and provided several examples to illustrate how they are used. We hope that this has helped you understand the definition of natural numbers and given you some ideas for how you can use them in your own life. Thanks for reading!