LA CARLOTA CITY COLLEGE

City of La Carlota
– o0o–

College of Education
TEACHING MATHEMATICS IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES (GEN EDUC 28):
INTEGERS

OBJECTIVES:

 Explain what integers are, including their types (positive, negative, zero), and their
representation using symbols and number lines;
 Develop an appreciation for the importance of integers in everyday life, recognizing their
usefulness in measurement and comparison; and
 Plot integers on a number line and accurately perform arithmetic opertaion of integers.

WHAT ARE INTEGERS?

The word integer originated from the Latin word “Integer” which means whole or intact. Integers
is a special set of numbers comprising zero, positive numbers and negative numbers. Examples of
Integers: – 1, -12, 6, 15.

The integers are represented by the symbol ‘Z’. Z={……-8,-7,-6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8,……}

TYPES OF INTEGERS

Integers come in three types:

1. Zero (0)
2. Positive Integers (Natural numbers)
3. Negative Integers (Additive inverse of Natural Numbers)

 Zero is neither a positive nor a negative integer. It is a neutral number i.e. zero has no
sign (+ or -).
 Positive Integers - The positive integers are the natural numbers or also called counting
numbers. These integers are also sometimes denoted by Z+. The positive integers lie on
the right side of 0 on a number line.

Z+ → 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,
29, 30,….

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  Negative Integers - The negative integers are the negative of natural numbers. They are
denoted by Z–. The negative integers lie on the left side of 0 on a number line.

Z– → -1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8, -9, -10, -11, -12, -13, -14, -15, -16, -17, -18, -19, -20, -21, -22, -23,
-24, -25, -26, -27, -28, -29, -30,…..

CLASSIFICATION OF INTEGERS

HOW TO REPRESENT INTEGERS ON NUMBER LINE?

Again, there are three categories of integers, we can easily represent them on a number line
based on positive integers, negative integers and zero. Zero is the centre of integers on a number line.
Positive integers lie on the right side of zero and negative integers lie on the left. See the below figure.

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RULES OF INTEGERS

Rules defined for integers are:

 Sum of two positive integers is an integer.
 Sum of two negative integers is an integer.
 Product of two positive integers is an integer.
 Product of two negative integers is an integer.
 Sum of an integer and its inverse is equal to zero.
 Product of an integer and its reciprocal is equal to 1

ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS ON INTEGERS

The basic Maths operations performed on integers are:

1. Addition of Integers

a) While adding the two integers with the same sign, add the absolute values, and
write down the sum with the sign provided with the numbers.

For example:
 (+4) + (+7) = +11
 (-6) + (-4) = -10

b) While adding two integers with different signs, subtract the absolute values, and
write down the difference with the sign of the number which has the largest
absolute value.

For example:
 (-4) + (+2) = -2
 (+6) + (-4) = +2.

2. Subtraction of Integers

a) While subtracting two integers, change the sign of the second number which is being
subtracted, and follow the rules of addition.

For example:
 (-7) – (+4) = (-7) + (-4) = -11
 (+8) – (+3) = (+8) + (-3) = +5

3. Multiplication of Integers

a) While multiplying two integer numbers, the rule is simple. If both the integers have
the same sign, then the result is positive. If the integers have different signs, then the
result is negative.

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 For example:
 (+2) x (+3) = +6
 (+3) x (-4) = – 12

Thus, we can summarise the multiplication of two integers with examples in the below table.

Multiplication of Signs Resulting Sign Examples

+×+ + 3 × 4 = 12

+×– – 3 × -4 = -12

–×+ – -3 × 4 = -12

–×– + -3 × -4 = 12

4. Division of Integers

a) The rule for dividing integers is similar to multiplication. If both the integers have the
same sign, then the result is positive. If the integers have different signs, then the result
is negative.

For example:
 (+6) ÷ (+2) = +3
 (-16) ÷ (+4) = -4

Division of Signs Resulting sign Examples

+÷+ + 15 ÷ 3 = 5

+÷– – 15 ÷ -3 = -5

–÷+ – -15 ÷ 3 = -5

–÷– + -15 ÷ -3 = 5

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PROPERTIES OF INTEGERS

1. Closure Property - According to the closure property of integers, when two integers are
added or multiplied together, it results in an integer only. If a and b are integers, then:
 a + b = integer
 a x b = integer

Examples:
 2 + 5 = 7 (is an integer)
 2 x 5 = 10 (is an integer)

2. Commutative Property - According to the commutative property of integers, if a and b

are two integers, then:
 a+b=b+a
 axb=bxa

Examples:
 3 + 8 = 8 + 3 = 11
 3 x 8 = 8 x 3 = 24

 Note: But for the commutative property is not applicable to subtraction and
division of integers.

3. Associative Property - As per the associative property , if a, b and c are integers, then:
 a+(b+c) = (a+b)+c
 ax(bxc) = (axb)xc

Examples:
 2+(3+4) = (2+3)+4 = 9
 2x(3×4) = (2×3)x4 = 24

 Similar to commutativity, associativity is applicable for the addition and

multiplication of integers only.

4. Distributive Property - According to the distributive property of integers, if a, b and c are

integers, then:
 a x (b + c) = a x b + a x c

Example: Prove that: 3 x (5 + 1) = 3 x 5 + 3 x 1

 LHS = 3 x (5 + 1) = 3 x 6 = 18
 RHS = 3 x 5 + 3 x 1 = 15 + 3 = 18
 Since, LHS = RHS. Hence, proved.

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 5. Additive Inverse Property - If a is an integer, then as per the additive inverse property of
integers,
 a + (-a) = 0
 Hence, -a is the additive inverse of integer a.

6. Multiplicative Inverse Property - If a is an integer, then as per the multiplicative inverse

property of integers,
 a x (1/a) = 1
 Hence, 1/a is the multiplicative inverse of integer a.

7. Identity Property of Integers- The identity elements of integers are:

 a+0=a
 ax1=a

 Example: -100,-12,-1, 0, 2, 1000, 989 etc…

APPLICATIONS OF INTEGERS

Integers are not just numbers on paper; they have many real-life applications. The effect of
positive and negative numbers in the real world is different. They are mainly used to symbolize two
contradicting situations.

For example, when the temperature is above zero, positive numbers are used to denote
temperature, whereas negative numbers indicate the temperature below zero. They help one to compare
and measure two things like how big or small or more or fewer things are and hence can quantify things.

Some real-life situations where integers come into play are player’s scores in golf, football and
hockey tournaments, the rating of movies or songs, in banks credits and debits are represented as
positive and negative amounts respectively.

EXAMPLES ON INTEGERS

 Example 1: Plot the following integers on the number line: -121, -97, -82, -67, -43, -10, 0,
10, 36, 55, 64, 77, 110, 126, 147.
 Solution:

 In the above number line, each number has been plotted with a red dot.

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  Example 2: Solve the following:
a. 5 + 3 = ?
b. 5 + (-3) = ?
c. (-5) + (-3) = ?
d. (-5) x (-3) = ?
 Solution:
a. 5 + 3 = 8
b. 5 + (-3) = 5 – 3 = 2
c. (-5) + (-3) = -5 – 3 = -8
d. (-5) x (-3) = 15

 Example 3: Solve the following product of integers:

a. (+5) × (+10)
b. (12) × (5)
c. (- 5) × (7)
d. 5 × (-4)
 Solution:
a. (+5) × (+10) = +50
b. (12) × (5) = 60
c. (- 5) × (7) = -35
d. 5 × (-4) = -20

 Example 4: Solve the following division of integers:

a. (-9) ÷ (-3)
b. (-18) ÷ (3)
c. (4000) ÷ (- 100)
 Solution:
a. (-9) ÷ (-3) = 3
b. (-18) ÷ (3) = -6
c. (4000) ÷ (- 100) = -40

REFERENCE:

1. https://byjus.com/maths/integers/

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