How many whole numbers are less than k, if k is a whole number?

The set of the whole numbers is the set of all the positive integers and the zero. So we can write it as:

{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...}

We will see that:

if k is a whole number, then there are k whole numbers that are smaller than k.

Let's see how we got that:

Now, we know that k is a whole number, then just let's assign different whole numbers to k and count how many whole numbers are smaller than k.

if k = 1

We have 1 whole number smaller than k, that is the zero.

if k = 2

We have 2 whole numbers smaller than k, the zero and the 1.

if k = 3

we have 3 whole numbers smaller than k, {0, 1, 2}

We already can see the pattern.

if k is a whole number, then there are k whole numbers that are smaller than k.

If you want to learn more, you can read:

link

congruent segments

step-by-step explanation: