![]() Or to rephrase, two doesn't go into zero. But zero can't really be divided by two since the result is zero - neither a positive or negative integer.Ī: Zero times. Zero, on the other hand, is even since it is 2 times some integer: it's 2 times 0."Ī 2001 question takes us a little deeper: Is Zero Even?Īt numerous sites across the Internet the answer to the question whether zero is odd or even seems to be totally subjective, and the proofs used to justify 'even' (zero can be divided by two, therefore it is even), sound reasonable. The terms even and odd only apply to integers 2.5 is neither even nor odd. "Integers are the whole numbers, negative whole numbers, and zero. We’ll be looking at this extension below. Later when the number system is expanded to include the set of integers, they will be able to carry the concept over without much difficulty. Then have them divide several numbers by 2 (including 0) and let them see a second way to conclude that a number is even ( the remainder of the evens is 0 and the remainder of the odds is 1). So all the numbers in the list of multiples are the even numbers: 0, 2, 4, 6, …. We can (equivalently) say either that an even number is one that is exactly divisible by 2, or one that is a multiple of 2. Ultimately, we just have to go to the definition. You may want to review the multiplication facts for 2:Īfter writing these number facts out or reviewing them with the class you can ask them about patterns and eventually tell them that this is how they can create a list of even numbers. That means that when you divide by two the remainder is zero. An even number is a number that is exactly divisible by 2. If we didn’t call zero even, it would look like this:īut since zero was special in terms of sign, maybe it’s special here, too?ĭoctor Mateo answered, focusing on the definition: Hello Wendy, (Not sure about those negative numbers? We’ll get there!) Not bad! And every other number on the number line is even, so we can’t skip over the place where zero is. 30 is even, and it ends in zero), then for consistency, 0 itself must be even. 36 is even because 6 is even), and all numbers that end with the digit 0 are even (e.g. Wendy knows that zero is even, but can’t convince her students! Her first argument appears to be that since we can decide whether a number is even by whether its units digit is even (e.g. ![]() (We discussed 1 not being prime or composite in Prime Numbers: What About 0 and 1?) Is it just special the way that 1 is neither prime nor composite? It holds an even place in the number line. Zero after any other number is even because it can be divided by 2. Is zero odd or even? My 4th grade students are not satisfied with any explanation I can offer. Now let’s turn to the question of “parity” (oddness or evenness), with a question from 1998: Is Zero Odd or Even? Technically, if we’re talking about real numbers and not just integers, these should be: We previously discussed this in Talking About Negative Numbers. It is easy to say “positive” when you really mean “non-negative”, because you forgot to think about whether to include zero! Here are the non-negative numbers: Similarly, the " non-positive" numbers are the negative numbers together with zero. So the only difference between the set of positive numbers and the set of non-negative numbers is that zero isn't in the first set, but it is in the second. People sometimes talk about the " non-negative" numbers, and what that means is all the numbers that aren't negative, in other words all the positive numbers and zero. Here, positive numbers are green, negative numbers are red, and zero is neither: Zero is the dividing point, and is not on either side of the line. Since zero isn't bigger or smaller than itself (just like you're not older than yourself, or taller than yourself), zero is neither positive nor negative. Negative numbers are numbers that are smaller than zero, and positive numbers are numbers that are bigger than zero. The whole idea of positive and negative is defined in terms of zero. My name is David and I am in fifth grade at Kyrene De La Sierra in Phoenix.Īctually, zero is neither a negative or a positive number. My class and I are wondering if 0 is a negative or a positive number and why. We’ll start with a question from 1995: Why Zero is neither Positive nor Negative ![]() Last week we looked at some basics about zero now let’s look at whether zero is positive or negative, and then at the topic of the recent comment that triggered this series: whether zero is even or odd.
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