Is Zero Even?
Date: 03/28/2001 at 02:59:56 From: John Matousek Subject: Zero odd/even At numerous sites across the Internet the answer to the question whether zero is odd or even seems to be totally subjective, and the proofs used to justify 'even' (zero can be divided by two, therefore it is even), sound reasonable. But zero can't really be divided by two since the result is zero - neither a positive or negative integer. Q: How many times does 2 go into 0? A: Zero times. Or to rephrase, two doesn't go into zero. The question arose when a retired math teacher stated "2/20/2000, the first day ever with seven even numerals in its date." Of course he is wrong, 2/20/2000 BC being the most obvious example - if you accept zero as even. But there are also thousands of dates from the astronomical, Hebrew, Chinese, Hindu lunar, old Hindu solar and lunar calendars where zero would not even need to be considered. 'Ever' is such a big word. Thanks.
Date: 03/28/2001 at 09:18:35 From: Doctor Rick Subject: Re: Zero odd/even Hi, John. Thanks for writing! I hope I can clear up some confusion. Our archives sometimes say that zero is neither positive nor negative, not that it is neither even nor odd. That's very different. The question of evenness or oddness is based on definitions. There may be variations on how "even" is defined, just as there are on how "natural numbers" are defined; but once you have established your definition, the question can be answered objectively based on that definition. An even number, as our archive pages say, is defined as one that is divisible by 2. Divisibility by 2 is defined as giving an integer quotient when divided by 2. The only matter open to debate is whether this last statement should say "integer," "natural number," or "whole number." If integer, then the even numbers are ..., -6, -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, 6, ... If natural number (0, 1, 2, 3, ...), then the even numbers are 0, 2, 4, 6, ... If whole number (1, 2, 3, ...), then the even numbers are 2, 4, 6, ... There is no reason to be restrictive in our definition of divisibility: the definition introduces no contradictions or special cases when it is extended to all integers. If you have found places on the Web where a restrictive definition is used, I'd like to see them. You state that the problem you have with zero being even is that zero can't really be divided by 2, because the quotient is 0, which is neither positive nor negative. Putting this in my terms, you are defining "divisible" as meaning "giving a quotient that is a positive or negative (that is, non-zero) integer." I could accept one of the alternative definitions I gave above before I would accept yours. If we say that zero cannot be divided by anything, then this introduces lots of special cases to our mathematical properties. For example, the sum of two even numbers is even. You are telling me that the 4 and -4 are even, but that the sum of 4 and -4 is *not* even. We'd need to change the rule to "The sum of even numbers is even, UNLESS it is zero." It's so much simpler to define our terms in a way that does not require such special cases. Defining evenness and divisibility as we do does not introduce special cases. Before zero was introduced to our number system, negative quantities were treated as an entirely separate kind of entity from positive numbers. Different rules were needed for lots of different cases, depending on whether a quantity was added (positive) or subtracted (negative). The history of quadratic equations illustrates this. A big part of the genius of introducing zero in the first place was that it unified all these special cases into one. I am asking you now to see that you do not need to treat zero as special; and when you treat it like every other integer, it follows that zero is even. For related answers in our archives, see: Zero is even: Are these numbers odd or even? http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57062.html Is Zero Even, Odd, or Neither? http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57104.html Is Zero Odd or Even? http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/57132.html FAQ: Integers, Rational and Irrational Numbers http://mathforum.org/dr.math/faq/faq.integers.html Even and odd numbers enumerated, start with 1: Infinity, Zero http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52400.html Neither positive nor negative: Why Zero is Neither Positive nor Negative http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58735.html What is 0? http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/58743.html Is Zero Positive or Negative? http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/60300.html - Doctor Rick, The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/dr.math/
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