Читать книгу Algebra I All-in-One For Dummies - Mary Jane Sterling, Mary Sterling Jane - Страница 16

Integers allow you to broaden your horizons a bit. Integers incorporate all the qualities of whole numbers and their opposites (called their additive inverses). Integers can be described as being positive and negative whole numbers and zero: –3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3.

Integers are popular in algebra. When you solve a long, complicated problem and come up with an integer, you can be joyous because your answer is probably right. After all, it’s not a fraction! This doesn’t mean that answers in algebra can’t be fractions or decimals. It’s just that most textbooks and reference books try to stick with nice answers to increase the comfort level and avoid confusion. This is my plan in this book, too. After all, who wants a messy answer — even though, in real life, that’s more often the case. I use integers in Chapter 14 and those later on, where you find out how to solve equations.