The Lesson
The whole numbers are the numbers:
Whole Numbers As Counting Numbers
Whole numbers can be used to count a whole number of objects or say whether there are no objects at all.
Note: Mathematicians usually call the numbers from 1 upwards (1, 2, 3...) counting numbers or
natural numbers. If we include 0, this becomes the whole numbers.
Whole Numbers on the Number Line
The image below shows the whole numbers on the
number line.
Note: The whole numbers are not found in between the numbers shown.
What Whole Numbers Are
Whole numbers are
integers that aren't
negative.
What Whole Numbers Are Not
Whole numbers are
not negative (such as -1) and are
not fractions (part of a whole number, such as ½ or 0.3).
The Whole Numbers Are the Natural Numbers Plus 0
The whole numbers are the set of
natural numbers with 0 included.
If the natural numbers are:
1, 2, 3...
The whole numbers are:
0, 1, 2, 3...