Today, much as we take for granted the fact that there exists a number zero, denoted by 0, such that a+0 = a for any whole number a, we similarly take for granted that for any whole number a there exi...Today, much as we take for granted the fact that there exists a number zero, denoted by 0, such that a+0 = a for any whole number a, we similarly take for granted that for any whole number a there exists a unique number −a, called the “negative” or “opposite” of a, so that a + (−a) = 0.
Today, much as we take for granted the fact that there exists a number zero, denoted by 0, such that a+0 = a for any whole number a, we similarly take for granted that for any whole number a there exi...Today, much as we take for granted the fact that there exists a number zero, denoted by 0, such that a+0 = a for any whole number a, we similarly take for granted that for any whole number a there exists a unique number −a, called the “negative” or “opposite” of a, so that a + (−a) = 0.