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What is a natural number? »Its definition and meaning

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Natural numbers are the figures that are used for the most basic calculation operations, as well as to count the elements belonging to any set. Similarly, it can be defined as any constituent of the set ℕ or ℕ = {1, 2, 3, 4,…}; It should be noted that, according to the scientific area with which we work, this definition may or may not include zero, that is, ℕ = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4,…}. According to your organization, the number on the right is the next or successive one, while the one on the left will be the regressive one, although this is more common when they are counted in the same way.

In the ancient Greco-Roman world, the representation of numerical quantities was relegated to the use of the symbols of the alphabet; later, new symbols would be included. However, it was not until the 19th century that the mission of discovering if natural numbers really existed began; was Richard Dedekind the man who was responsible for developing a number of theories to prove the existence of the whole. This led to various intellectuals and mathematicians of the time, such as Giuseppe Peano, Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege and Ernst Zermelo, who ended up establishing the set within science and assigning them a series of characteristics.

These types of numbers are normally used to count the components of a set of elements; this, knowing that this set is a collection of objects, such as routes, figures, letters, numbers or people, which can be considered as an object itself. These are identified with certain letters, usually according to the namethey receive. The natural numbers, likewise, have a series of properties, such as: it is a completely and well ordered set, due to its relationship of succession; the quantities corresponding to q and r will always be determined by a and b. Added to this, we have that any number greater than 1 must go after another natural number; that between two natural numbers, there exists a finite quantity and that there will always be a number greater than another or, being the same, it is infinite.