Whole numbers are the numbers 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,…0,1,2,3,4,5,6,\dots 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,… — that is, all counting numbers together with zero, with no fractions, decimals, or negative signs.

What are whole numbers?

  • Whole numbers start at 0 and go on forever: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,…0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,\dots 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,….
  • They do not include negative numbers like −3-3−3, or numbers with decimals or fractions like 2.52.52.5 or 3/43/43/4.
  • Formally, we often write the set of whole numbers as {0,1,2,3,… }\{0,1,2,3,\dots\}{0,1,2,3,…}.

A quick way to remember: if you can count it in complete units without “halves” or “minus” signs, you are probably using whole numbers.

Simple examples of whole numbers

Here are some basic examples:

  • 0,1,2,3,4,5,10,100,99990,1,2,3,4,5,10,100,99990,1,2,3,4,5,10,100,9999 are all whole numbers.
  • Very large integers like 9,876,543,2109{,}876{,}543{,}2109,876,543,210 are still whole numbers as long as they have no decimal or fraction part.

And here are some real-life examples where whole numbers are used:

  • Number of people in a room: 0, 3, 25.
  • Pages in a book or textbook: 120, 250, 500.
  • Number of students in a class: 30, 40.

All of these are counted in complete units, not partial pieces.

What are NOT whole numbers?

To avoid confusion, here are some examples that are not whole numbers:

  • Negative integers: −1,−2,−5-1,-2,-5−1,−2,−5.
  • Fractions: 1/2,3/4,5/61/2,3/4,5/61/2,3/4,5/6.
  • Decimals: 2.5,4.7,−5.22.5,4.7,-5.22.5,4.7,−5.2.

These all represent “parts” or go below zero, so they don’t belong to the set of whole numbers.

Quick HTML table of examples

Since you asked for table output as HTML, here is a ready-to-use snippet:

html

<table border="1">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Number</th>
      <th>Is it a whole number?</th>
      <th>Reason</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>0</td>
      <td>Yes</td>
      <td>Whole numbers start from 0.[web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>5</td>
      <td>Yes</td>
      <td>Positive integer with no fractional or decimal part.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>42</td>
      <td>Yes</td>
      <td>Countable quantity, no decimals or fractions.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>-3</td>
      <td>No</td>
      <td>Negative numbers are not whole numbers.[web:3][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>2.5</td>
      <td>No</td>
      <td>Contains a decimal part, so not a whole number.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>3/4</td>
      <td>No</td>
      <td>Fraction, represents part of a whole.[web:3]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR: An example of whole numbers is the set {0,1,2,3,4,5,… }\{0,1,2,3,4,5,\dots\}{0,1,2,3,4,5,…}, used to count complete objects like people, pages, or steps, without negatives, fractions, or decimals.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.