THE NUMBER ZERO

Miril Michael, II B. Ed Mathematics,

Mount Carmel College of Teacher Education for Women, Kottayam

Abstract :

Zero is a very special number. Zero’s influence on our mathematics today is beyond words. It’s
an important placeholder digit in our number system and at the same time a useful number in its
own right. In short, zero looks simple but is something really complicated to deal with.
This study deals with the peculiarities of the number zero in Mathematics. Zero has always been
an interesting topic for Mathematicians ever since it was invented.Here, a detailed analysis on
the history, peculiarities and problems with the numeral 0 is dealt with.

Keywords: exponent, factorial, matrix, determinants and matrix.

Introduction:

Zero is commonly used in language to express the concept of having none, and is used in math
as an integer.Zero (0) is a special number. It is the additive identity of common number. 0 is the
integer that precedes the positive 1, and follows −1.Zero is a number which means an amount
of null size. Before counting starts, the result can be assumed to be zero.

What is 0?

0 (zero) is a number. It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the
integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a
placeholder in place value systems.

0 is the integer immediately preceding 1. Zero is an even number because it is divisible by 2

with no remainder. 0 is neither positive nor negative, or both positive and negative Zero is .
usually presented as the central number in a number line. 0 can definitely not be termed as a
prime number as it has a number of factors and cannot be composite as well.

History

Though people have always understood the concept of nothing or having nothing, the concept
of zero is relatively new; it fully developed in India around the fifth century A.D., perhaps a
couple of centuries earlier. Today, zero — both as a symbol (or numeral) and a concept meaning
the absence of any quantity, allows one to perform calculus and do complicated equations

The first uses of zero in human history can be traced back to around 5,000 years ago, to ancient
Mesopotamia. There, it was used to represent the absence of a digit in a string of numbers. It is
also believed that Indian Mathematician Brahmagupta developed the symbol for zero for the first
time which was a dot underneath numbers.

Representation of 0

The modern numeral 0 is normally written as a circle or (rounded) rectangle. In old-style fonts
with text figures, 0 is usually the same height as a lowercase x.

Unusual appearance of the digit zero on seven-segment displays Usual appearance of the digit
zero on seven-segment displays
On the seven-segment displays of calculators, watches, etc., 0 is usually written with six line
segments, though on some historical calculator models, it was written with four line segments.
The four-segment 0 is not common.

Maths with 0

Adding a number to zero results in that number.

4 + 0 =4
x+0=x

Subtracting zero from a number always gives that number.

7-0=7
x-0=x

Subtracting a positive number from zero always makes that number negative.
0 − 8 = −8

Multiplying a number by zero always gives zero.

99 × 0 = 0

Dividing zero by a number always gives zero.

0 ÷ 56 = 0

Any number divided by zero has no answer.

43 ÷ 0 has an undefined answer.

Zero divided by zero has no answer.

0 ÷ 0 has no answer.
The 0 exponent rule says that any base with an exponent of zero or 0 is equal to 1. So x¹ = 1.
Meanwhile, 0 to any power equals 0. So 0² = 0.

A zero factorial, often written as 0! Is defined as equal to 1.

Problems with 0:

It should be clear that 0 is a thing to be handled with care

1.Is 0 a natural number?

While mathematicians all accept zero as a number, some non-mathematicians would say that
zero is not a number, arguing that one cannot have zero of something.

Many definitions include 0 as a natural number, in which case it is the only natural number that
is not positive.Zero is not positive or negative. Even though zero is not a positive number, it's
still considered a whole number. Zero's status as a whole number and the fact that it is not a
negative number makes it considered a natural number by some mathematicians.

Zero has no sign i. e., it is neither positive nor negative. But it is said to be as non - negative
number and we also call all positive number as non-negative number.

2. What is 0/0?

Another one can argue that 0/0 is ​1, because anything divided by itself is 1. Whatever we say
0/0 equals to, we contradict one crucial property of numbers or another. So, we simply say that
0/0 is undetermined.

3. What is 0 ^ 0?

Here are the laws:

● 0 to the power of anything is 0.
● Anything to the power of 0 is 1.

So the issue begins when these two laws collide. Calculators are programmed to display 1
whenever something is raised to 0. But the answer is 0 for 0 ^0.

If 0 doesn't exist!

The mankind could not have gone beyond 9.

0 helped us create several number base systems and in a way added a new dimension to
mathematics.
Without zero, we wouldn't have been able to deal with calculus.Limit for example is the basic of
calculus, without zero it would not have been possible (->0 / ->0 is a major indeterminate form).

Representation of decimals is possible only with 0.

Matrix and determinants require 0 for its representation.

Zero has several other applications in set theory ( where it is represented as the lowest ordinal
number), lattice theory where zero is represented as the bottom element of a lattice(bounded),
category theory and recursive theory as well. In category theory zero represents a initial value
or object of a category.

Computer uses binary language which is combination of 0 and 1. Mordern engineering and
automation would have been impossible without zero.

O and 0

The number 0 and the letter O are both round, though of different widths. The difference is
important on a computer. For one thing, a computer will not do arithmetic with the letter O,
because it does not know that it should have been a zero.

The oval-shaped zero and circular letter O came into use together on modern character
displays. The zero with a dot in the centre seems to have begun as a choice on IBM 3270
controllers

In paper writing you do not have to make the 0 (zero) and O (letter O) look different at all. Or
you may add a slash across the zero in order to show the difference.

In conclusion, 0 is a dangerous numeral to deal with. There are a lot of problems related to and
related with 0 and its operations. It is a vast area for research and many mathematicians are still
on it.

Reference :

https://scientificamerica.com
https://www.edulyte. com
https://science.howstuffworks.com