Answer to Question #113075 in Algebra for Felicia Ngubandze

Question

1.Discuss any five special facts to remember about the number zero.
2.What is an absolute value? Discuss the reasons why it is necessary.

Answer 1

Special facts to remember about the number zero:

1. The number zero is the smallest whole number and there is no largest whole number.

2. If we multiply a whole number by zero, the answer is always zero.

3. If we divide zero by any number the result is always zero.

4. Division by zero is not defined.

5. If we add the number zero to the collection of natural numbers we get the collection of whole numbers.

The absolute value of a number is its distance from zero on a number line. For example, the absolute value of 7 is 7 because that is the exact distance from 0. The absolute value of negative 7 is also 7, because there are seven spaces to zero on the negative side of the number line.

The absolute value is necessary in calculations of changes in temperature or travel distances. For example, if today the temperature is 74 degrees and yesterday it was 68 degrees, the absolute value of the temperature change is 6 degrees. If it goes back down to 68 degrees the next day, the absolute value of the temperature change is still 6 degrees.