The number Is zero even or odd? Short answer: zero is even, because it is a multiple of two (and is divisible by two). Many have doubts about how to answer this question, but mathematicians have no doubts about it. Let’s see why.
What is an even number
The point of the matter is what is meant by even number in mathematics. First of all, let’s clarify that we are talking about Natural numbers, those without the decimal point and which are used to count (or at most Whole numbers, also considering the negative counterparts of Natural numbers) and among these numbers it is said that:
a number is even if it is divisible by 2that is, if its division by two gives a zero remainder, otherwise the number is shots.
For example, 6 is even because 6 divided by 2 is 3 with a remainder of zero, i.e. 2 is a divisor of 6. On the contrary, 7 is not even, therefore it is odd, because 7 divided by 2 is 3 with a remainder of 1.
Why zero is even: explanation
As for zero then, there is no doubt, zero divided by 2 is 0 with a remainder of 0, so zero is even.
However for many it can result not very intuitive the fact that 2 is a divisor of 0, but mathematics helps us with an alternative definition of even number, based on multiplication instead of division:
a number is even if it is a multiple of 2or if there is another number that when multiplied by 2 gives the same number as a result, otherwise it is odd.
For example, 10 is even because there is the number 5 which, when multiplied by 2, equals 10, while 9 is odd because no number which when multiplied by 2 gives 9 (4.5 is not valid because it is not a Natural number, it is a number with a decimal point).
With this definition, then, to prove that zero is an even number it is enough to find any number that when multiplied by two gives zero as a result, but this number is very easy to find, it is zero itself given that 0×2=0, Therefore zero is even as it is a multiple of 2.
The Paris police case of 1977
What does all this have to do with i policemen of Paris? In 1977, for a period, cars had to circulate on alternate license plates to reduce pollution in the French capital, but some policemen didn’t know whether to stop or let the cars pass with license plates that ended in zero because they didn’t know if it was an even or odd number.
