An integer is a whole number that can be positive, negative, or zero. Examples of integers include -5, 1, 5, 8, 97, and 3,043. The set of integers is formally defined as follows: Z = {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...} . In mathematical equations, unknown or unspecified integers are represented by lowercase, italicized letters from the "late middle" of the alphabet, such as p, q, r, and s.
Integers are a special set of numbers that include zero, positive numbers, and negative numbers. They are used in many real-life situations, such as player’s scores in golf, football, and hockey tournaments, the rating of movies or songs, and in banks where credits and debits are represented as positive and negative amounts, respectively.
The word "integer" comes from the Latin word "integer," which means whole or intact. Historically, the term was used for a number that was a multiple of 1, or to the whole part of a mixed number. Only positive integers were considered, making the term synonymous with the natural numbers.
