Final answer:
The set of numbers that includes the negative numbers is called the set of integers. Negative exponents denote a division and result in a decimal number less than one, which is often used in scientific notation to represent very small numbers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The set of numbers that includes the negative numbers along with zero and the positive numbers is called the set of integers. Numbers can have either a positive (+ve) or negative (-ve) sign, indicating their relative position to zero. Negative numbers are less than zero, such as -1, -2, -3, and so forth. When performing arithmetic operations like addition and multiplication, the signs of the numbers affect the sign of the result. Multiplying two negative numbers results in a positive number, while multiplying numbers with opposite signs results in a negative number. Similarly, when adding two negative numbers the result is negative, and when adding numbers with opposite signs, the result has the sign of the larger number. Negative exponents, such as those used in scientific notation, denote a division rather than a multiplication and result in a decimal number less than one.
For instance, 10-3 is equivalent to 1/103 or 0.001. This is used often in scientific notation to represent very small numbers, making them easier to work with and understand.