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This thermometer is indicating a negative Fahrenheit temperature (−4 °F). In mathematics, a negative number is the opposite of a positive real number. [1] Equivalently, a negative number is a real number that is less than zero. Negative numbers are often used to represent the magnitude of a loss or deficiency.
In mathematics, exponentiation, denoted b n, is an operation involving two numbers: the base, b, and the exponent or power, n. [1] When n is a positive integer, exponentiation corresponds to repeated multiplication of the base: that is, b n is the product of multiplying n bases: [1] = ⏟.
For example, in the real numbers, the squaring operation only produces non-negative numbers; the codomain is the set of real numbers, but the range is the non-negative numbers. Operations can involve dissimilar objects: a vector can be multiplied by a scalar to form another vector (an operation known as scalar multiplication ), [ 13 ] and the ...
Multiplication is an arithmetic operation in which two numbers, called the multiplier and the multiplicand, are combined into a single number called the product. [ 50 ] [ d ] The symbols of multiplication are × {\displaystyle \times } , ⋅ {\displaystyle \cdot } , and *.
Multiplication symbols are usually omitted, and implied, when there is no operator between two variables or terms, or when a coefficient is used. For example, 3 × x 2 is written as 3x 2, and 2 × x × y is written as 2xy. [5] Sometimes, multiplication symbols are replaced with either a dot or center-dot, so that x × y is written as either x ...
The resultant sign from multiplication when both are positive or one is positive and the other is negative can be illustrated so long as one uses the positive factor to give the cardinal value to the implied repeated addition or subtraction operation, or in other words, -5 x 2 = -5 + -5 = -10, or 10 ÷ -2 = 10 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 = 0 (the ...
Multiplying by a number is the same as dividing by its reciprocal and vice versa. For example, multiplication by 4/5 (or 0.8) will give the same result as division by 5/4 (or 1.25). Therefore, multiplication by a number followed by multiplication by its reciprocal yields the original number (since the product of the number and its reciprocal is 1).
In elementary mathematics, the additive inverse is often referred to as the opposite number, [3] [4] or its negative. [5] The unary operation of arithmetic negation [6] is closely related to subtraction [7] and is important in solving algebraic equations. [8] Not all sets where addition is defined have an additive inverse, such as the natural ...