is zero an odd or even number and explain your answer?

Question

to start a game of dominoes all the cards are face down, one is pulled at random and the question is asked "odd or even".In a standard set of double six dominoes there will be 28 cards,when the two ends added together the total will make an odd or an even,13 odd and 14 even leaving double zero as what an odd or an even ?

Answer 1

Zero is even for all the reasons given above (especially the 0/2=0 with no remainder argument).

This is more of an FYI:
I want to address the "zero is not a real number" claim:

The set of real numbers (and the complex ones) have to have certain properties in order to make our mathematics work correctly (they are technically an "ordered field"):

If zero isn't a real number, then the set of all Real numbers is no longer "closed" under addition (i.e., 1+(-1)=not a real number).

Also, there would no longer be an additive identity: x + 0 = 0 + x = x. This has repercussions that would be difficult to explain here.

There are other properties that rely on zero being a real number, but without it, the real numbers would not be a field. That's very bad for mathematics.

Now I realize I'm using "real" in the technical sense, and that others are using "real" in the physical sense (i.e., one cannot touch zero apples). But the abstract concept of a zero is very important in math and physics.

Answer 2

"As Billy Preston so eloquently states in his #1 hit from 1974, "Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'." We're all pretty clear on the concept of zero -- the void, the absence, the sheer nothingness of it. But whether it's classified as an odd or even number is an entirely different subject that has puzzled people throughout the ages.

To begin our quest into the land of zilch, we stopped off at the Zero category in the Yahoo! Directory. Surprisingly, we found several sites in a category where you might not expect to find anything. Only one site tackled the pertinent issue. Zero in Four Dimensions featured a lengthy discourse on how the number should be categorized. In the section labeled "Logical Perspective," the author states that zero has a hard time being either odd or even since it isn't even really a number! Zero sits alone, smack dab in between the positive and the negative, signifying absolutely nothing.

To get a better grasp on the concept, we tried an advanced search on "number zero" + odd. On a page titled The Zero Effect by Donn Responds, we read that an even number divided by 2 leaves no remainder, while an odd number divided by 2 leaves a remainder. According to this logic, zero would be an even number. However, Donn doesn't buy this argument and states:

Zero is divisible by any number and leaves no remainder. In this it is unique. ( 0/n = 0 ; independent of what "n" is. When a number...say 5, is divided by a pedestrian integer you get quotients like: 1.666 (5/3) or 0.625 (5/8) but divide any number by zero and the quotient is...undefined. Every single time.

After some further digging, we turned up two other sources that argued that 0 falls into the realm of even numbers. Dr. Pete of the Math Forum insists that every integer must be even or odd, and states, "An integer 'n' is called *even* if there exists an integer m such that n = 2m...From this, it is clear that 0 = (2)(0) is even." The Straight Dope echoes these findings in a column on the subject.

So it seems we have a definite split amongst the minds of mathematics. Some sources claim zero is neither negative nor positive, while others label it a positive number. It's a positively odd situation that leaves us in a quandary over nothing. Ultimately, we suggest reading through the sources and deciding for yourself. "

I STOLE THIS DOCUMENT FROM THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE I DO NOT CLAIM THE NONSENSE ABOVE TO BE MY OWn
http://ask.yahoo.com/20020909.html

Answer 3

to hm_0448:
6/2=3 that disproves your argument...
To answer the question one should define what an even number is:
it is a number that is divisible by 2 and produces another number without any remainders, however what is this other number that is produced, if it is an integer or a natural number then 0 is included in the list of even numbers.
It also seems that 0 can be generated by the formula 2n. So this implies that 0 is indeed an even number.
It's still a debate and I bet many mathematicians have a difference of opinion. Either an even or neither number, I don't think there's any justification to describe it as odd.

Answer 4

chris,

I think you're confusing the rules of dominos and the rules of math.

To answer the dominos question, consult the dominos rulesbook, or ask in some other category of Yahoo answers.

In math, zero is the first number in the decimal number set, while one is the second number. So which one is odd, or even? Go figure...

The decimal number set is 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. After 9, you write 10, which means that the decimal number set has been used up, so the next number is written with a one in the tens (second) column. The zero in the ones column means that the one in the tens column has a total value of ten (not eleven, fourteen or nineteen).

You add to the ten in the tens column by replacing the zero (placeholder) in the ones column with another number, that is, anything between 1 and 9.

Good luck with your questions!

In conclusion, one is NOT a number, it's a placeholder.

Answer 5

Irrelevant if zero is even or odd.

The traditional way of starting a game of dominoes is to see which person has the highest value "double". That person goes first with that tile. If no person has a double then the tiles are reshuffles and redrawn.

Answer 6

Even. Even numbers are evenly divisible (i.e. no remainder) by 2 and 0/2 = 0 with remainder 0.

Oh and the people who say zero is somehow not a number don't know what they're talking about. Zero most certainly a number by any definition. It is a real number, it is a rational number and it's an integer.

Answer 7

Zero is even because it can be written in the form 2*n where n is an integer (n = 0 in this case).

Odd numbers, like 5, can be written in the form 2*n + 1 where n is an integer (n = 2 in this example)

Answer 8

an even number is by definition an integer that when divided by two does not have a remainder. Since 0/2= 0 with a remainder of 0, zero is an even number

Answer 9

Everyone who is saying 0 is an integer is wrong! It is not! Also, those of you who use mathematical arguments to show 0 is even (I'm with the 'it is neither camp') surely you'd all agree that an even number divided by another even number gives an even answer. But what is, for example, 4 divided 0? Infinity, which isn't a number, therefore cannot be even! Meaning 0 doesn't fit this rule for even numbers, so cannot be one.

Answer 10

it is even becasue, 1 3 5 7 9........are all odds which makes like 2 4 6 8...........even!! so science 0 becomes befor 1 and 1 is and odd number!!!0 has to be an even!!!!