Closure Property: Definition, Formula, Examples

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What Is Closure Property?

The closure property states that if a set of numbers (integers, real numbers, etc.) is closed under some operation (such as addition, subtraction, or multiplication, etc.), then performing that operation on any two numbers in the set results in the element belonging to the set.

To understand this, let’s look at some questions that we often wonder about.

  • Is the sum of two natural numbers a natural number? Yes!
  • Is the subtraction of two integers always an integer? Yes!
  • Do we always get an integer by the division of two integers? No!

The closure property is directly linked with such properties of any given set with respect to an operation. Let’s explore the closure property in detail for different operations and different sets.

Definition of Closure Property

The closure property states that when a set of numbers is closed under an arithmetic operation, performing the operation on any two numbers in the set always results in a number belonging to the same set of numbers.

If the operation results in even a single element outside the set, we can say that the set is not closed under the given operation.

Example 1: The addition of two real numbers is always a real number. Thus, real numbers are closed under addition.

Example 2: Subtraction of two natural numbers may or may not be a natural number. Thus, natural numbers are not closed under subtraction.

Closure Property of Real Numbers

The set of rational numbers and irrational numbers together form the set of real numbers.

Real numbers include:

  • Natural numbers $\left\{1,\;2,\;3,\; …\right\}$
  • Whole numbers $\left\{0,\;1,\;2,\;3,\; …\right\}$
  • Integers $\left\{…,\;-\;3,\;-\;2,\;-\;1,\;0,\;1,\;2,\;3,\;….\right\}$
  • Rational numbers 
  • Irrational numbers 

Real numbers are closed under the following operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division. Note that division by 0 is not defined. Division by zero is the only case where the closure property does not apply for real numbers. We can say that the real numbers are closed under non-zero division

Closure Property of Real Numbers
Real number $+$ Real number $=$ Real numberClosed under addition
Real number $\;-\;$ Real number $=$ Real numberClosed under subtraction
Real number Real number $=$ Real numberClosed under multiplication
Real number Real number $=$ Not always a real numberClosed only under non-zero division 

Closure Property for Integers

The set of integers is given by $Z = \left\{…,\; -\;3,\; -\;2,\; -\;1,\; 0,\; 1,\; 2,\; 3,\; … \right\}$.

The closure property holds true for addition, subtraction, and multiplication of integers. It does not apply for the division of two integers.

  • Closure property of integers under addition:

The closure property of addition of integers states that the sum of any two integers will always be an integer. If a and b are any two integers, $a + b$ will be an integer.

Examples:  $(\;-\;5) + 8 = 3$

                    $10 + 6 = 16$

  • Closure property of integers under subtraction:

The difference between any two integers will always be an integer. If a and b are any two integers, $a \;-\; b$ will also be an integer.

Examples: $10 \;-\; 6 = 4$

               $(\;-\;6) \;-\; (\;-\;3) = \;-\;3$

  • Closure property of integers under multiplication:

The product of any two integers will be an integer. If a and b are any two integers, a b will also be an integer.

Examples: $3 \times (\;-\;9) = \;-\;27$

                $(\;–\;7) \times (\;-\;9) = 63$

  • Closure property of integers under division:

If you divide an integer by another integer, you may or may not get an integer as a quotient. Also, the division by 0 is not defined.

Examples: $\;-\;10 \div 5 = \;-\; 2$ is an integer.

                 $(\;-\;5) \div ( \;-\;25) = \frac{1}{5}$ is not an integer

Closure Property of Integers
Integer $+$ Integer $=$ IntegerClosed under addition
Integer $-$ Integer $=$ IntegerClosed under subtraction
Integer Integer $=$ IntegerClosed under multiplication
Integer Integer $=$ Not always an integerNot closed under division

Closure Property of Rational Numbers

Rational numbers are the numbers that can be represented in the form of $\frac{p}{q}$, where $q \neq 0$; p and q are integers.

The rational numbers are closed under addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The closure property isn’t applicable for division since division by zero isn’t defined.

In other words, we can say that closure property is applicable for division of rational numbers except division by zero.

1)  $\frac{4}{7} + \frac{2}{3} = \frac{26}{21}$  is a rational number

2)  $\frac{4}{3} \;–\; \frac{2}{4} = \frac{6}{12}$  is a rational number

3)  $\frac{3}{5} \times \frac{2}{3} = \frac{6}{15}$  is a rational number

Closure Property of Rational Numbers
Rational number $+$ Rational number $=$ Rational numberClosed under addition
Rational number $–$ Rational number $=$ Rational numberClosed under subtraction
Rational number Rational number $=$ Rational numberClosed under multiplication
Rational number $\div$ Rational number $=$ Not always a Rational numberClosed only under non-zero division

Closure Property of Whole Numbers

The set of whole numbers is given by $W = \left\{0,\; 1,\; 2,\; 3,\; 4,\; …\right\}$. Thus, whole numbers include natural numbers and 0.

The whole numbers are closed under addition and the multiplication. If a and b are two whole numbers, $a + b$ is a whole number and $a \times b$ is also a whole number.

For example,

1) $2 + 6 = 8$ …a whole number

2) $2 \times 6 = 12$ …a whole number

Whole numbers are not closed under subtraction and division. If a and b are two whole numbers, then $a \;-\; b$ and $a \div b$ is not always a whole number.

For example:  

1) $6 \;-\; 1 = 5$ is a whole number.

2) $1\;-\; 6 = \;-\; 5$  is not a whole number.

3) $\frac{12}{6} = 2$ is a whole number.

4)  $\frac{1}{6} = 0.167$ is a decimal number, not a whole number.

Closure Property of Whole Numbers
Whole number $+$ Whole number $=$ Whole numberClosed under addition
Whole number Whole number $=$ Whole numberClosed under multiplication
Whole number $-$ Whole number $=$ Not always a whole numberNot closed under subtraction
Whole number $\div$ Whole number $=$ Not always a whole numberNot closed under division

Closure Property of Addition

If the addition of two numbers in a given set of numbers belongs to the set, then we say that the given set of numbers is closed under addition. 

The set of real numbers, natural numbers, whole numbers, rational numbers, and integers are closed under addition.

Closure Property of Addition
Real Numbers$a + b =$ Real number (a, b are real numbers.)
Rational Numbers$a + b =$ Rational number (a, b are real numbers.)
Integers Numbers$a + b =$ Integer (a, b are integers.)
Natural Numbers$a + b =$ Natural number (a, b are natural numbers)
Whole Numbers$a + b =$ Whole number (a, b are whole numbers)

Closure Property of Multiplication

If the multiplication or product of two numbers in a given set of numbers belongs to the set, then we say that the given set of numbers is closed under multiplication. 

The closure property of multiplication is applicable for natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, and rational numbers.

Closure Property of Multiplication
Real Numbers$a \times b =$ Real number (a, b are real numbers.)
Rational Numbers$a \times b =$ Rational number (a, b are rational numbers.)
Integers Numbers$a \times b =$ Integer (a, b are integers.)
Natural Numbers$a \times b =$ Natural number (a, b are natural numbers)
Whole Numbers$a \times b =$ Whole number (a, b are whole numbers)

Closure Property of Subtraction

If the subtraction of two numbers in a given set of numbers belongs to the set, then we say that the given set of numbers is closed under subtraction. 

This property is applicable for real numbers, integers, and rational numbers.

Closure Property of Subtraction
Real Numbers$a \;-\; b =$ Real number (a, b are real numbers.)
Rational Numbers$a \;-\; b =$ Rational number (a, b are real numbers.)
Integers$a \;-\; b =$ Rational number (a, b are real numbers

Formula for Closure Property

For two real numbers a and b, the closure property formula can be given as

$a + b = R$

$a \;-\; b = R$

$a \times b = R$

$a \div b \neq R$ …since the division by 0 is not defined

Similarly, you can write the formulas for different sets with respect to each operation.

Facts about Closure Property

  • Closure Property is a mathematical operation that is used in addition, subtraction and multiplication of numbers.
  • If a set satisfies the closure property under a particular operation then it is said to be “closed under the operation.”
  • The closure property of division tells us that the result of the division of two whole numbers is not always a whole number.
  • Division of integers doesn’t follow the closure property as the quotient of any two integers a and b, may or may not be an integer.
  • The result of the subtraction and division is not always a whole number. 

Conclusion

In this article, we learned that the closure property is one of the most significant properties in mathematics. The closure property denotes that the set is complete. This indicates that any operation performed on elements within a set produces a result that belongs to the same set. Now let’s apply this knowledge to solve some closure property examples.

Solved Examples on Closure Property

1. Write whether the following statements are true or false.

a. Rational numbers are closed under division. 

b. Natural numbers are closed under division.

c. Whole numbers are not closed under subtraction and division.

Solution: 

a. Rational numbers are closed under division.

False 

Rational numbers are closed under addition, subtraction, and multiplication but not under division. 

b. Natural numbers are closed under division.

False

Consider two natural numbers 1 and 2.

$1\div2 = 0.5$, which is not a natural number.

c. Whole numbers are not closed under subtraction and division.

True

Whole numbers are only closed under addition and multiplication.

2. Are integers closed under division? Explain why or why not. 

Solution:

Integers are not closed under division.

Consider a counter example. 

The numbers 6 and 7 are integers.

However, $6\div 7 = 0.85$ is not an integer. 

3. Give a counterexample to support the statement: Whole numbers are not closed under subtraction. 

Solution: 

Whole numbers include natural numbers and 0. 

$W = \left\{0,\; 1,\; 2,\; 3,\; …\right\}$

For any two whole numbers a and b, the difference $a \;-\; b$ may or may not be a whole number.

Consider a counterexample.

0 and 1 are whole numbers. 

However, $0 \;-\; 1 = \;-\;1$ is not a whole number.

Practice Problems on Closure Property

Closure Property: Definition, Formula, Examples

Attend this quiz & Test your knowledge.

1

Closure property holds true for whole numbers under ______ and ______ .

addition and subtraction
addition and division
addition and multiplication
multiplication and division.
CorrectIncorrect
Correct answer is: addition and multiplication
Whole numbers are closed under addition and multiplication.
2

If $m$ and $n$ are two rational numbers, then the closure property of addition states that______ .

$m + n = n + m$
$m + n$ is a rational number.
$m \times n$ is a rational number.
$m = n$
CorrectIncorrect
Correct answer is: $m + n$ is a rational number.
For any rational numbers a and b, a + b is also a rational number.
3

If a and b are integers, then ______ is also an integer.

$a + b$
$ab$
$a \;-\; b$
All of the above
CorrectIncorrect
Correct answer is: All of the above
Integers are closed under addition, multiplication, and subtraction.
4

Closure property does not hold true for ______ of integers.

addition
subtraction
multiplication
division
CorrectIncorrect
Correct answer is: division
Division of integers doesn’t follow the closure property.
5

Closure property does not hold true for ______ of rational numbers.

addition
subtraction
multiplication
division
CorrectIncorrect
Correct answer is: division
Rational numbers are not closed under division since the division by 0 is not defined.

Frequently Asked Questions on Closure Property

Commutative property of addition states that the order of the numbers being added does not matter. In other words,$a + b = b + a$.

The closure property or the property of closure denotes that the set is closed. Closure in mathematics means that any operation carried out on elements within a set results in a number that belongs to the same set.

There’s no chance of getting a number outside the given set. The term “operation closed” or “operation closure property satisfied” is used to describe any operation that meets this criterion.

Division of real numbers will always give us a real number EXCEPT in the case of division by 0.

The division by zero is undefined. That’s the only scenario where the closure property of division fails for the set of real numbers.

However, we can say that the real numbers are closed under non-zero division (division except division by 0). The same is the case when it comes to the set of rational numbers.

No. The set of irrational numbers is not closed under any of the operations.

Take a look at the counterexamples.

Addition:   $\sqrt{2} + (\;-\;\sqrt{2}) = 0$

Subtraction:  $\sqrt{3} \;-\; \sqrt{3}  = 0$

Multiplication:   $\sqrt{5}\times \sqrt{5}  = 5$

Division:   $\frac{\sqrt{125}}{\sqrt{5}} = 25$.

In each example, the answer is not an irrational number.

Yes. The set of real numbers is closed under addition. If you add two real numbers, you will get another real number. There is no possibility of ever getting anything other than a real number.For example: $5 + 10 = 15,\; 2.5 + 2.5 = 5,\;  2\frac{1}{2} + 5 = 7\frac{1}{2},\; \sqrt{3} + 2\sqrt{3} = 3\sqrt{3}$ , etc.