Which one of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
(A) Every whole number is a natural number.
(B) Every natural number is a whole number.
(C) Every integer is a whole number.
(D) Every rational number is a whole number
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B) only
The number sets fit inside one another:
So a statement “every X is a Y” is true only when the set X lies inside the set Y.
(A) Every whole number is a natural number. Incorrect. 0 is a whole number but not a natural number, since counting starts from 1.
(B) Every natural number is a whole number. Correct. The whole numbers are the natural numbers with 0 added, so every natural number is also a whole number.
(C) Every integer is a whole number. Incorrect. Negative integers such as −3 are integers but not whole numbers.
(D) Every rational number is a whole number Incorrect. A rational number such as \(\frac{1}{2}\) or \(-\frac{3}{4}\) is not a whole number; the inclusion runs the other way.