Successor and Predecessor of Whole Number

Imagine standing on a staircase. Step up, and you move to the next number, your successor. Step down and you land on the previous number, your predecessor. Numbers work in a similar, easy-to-follow way!

Successor of a Whole Number:
The successor of a number is the next number you get when you add 1 to it.
For example:

• The successor of 0 is 1 (0 + 1 = 1).
• The successor of 1 is 2 (1 + 1 = 2).
• The successor of 5 is 6 (5 + 1 = 6).

Predecessor of a Whole Number:
The predecessor of a number is the previous number you get when you subtract 1 from it.
For example:

• The predecessor of 1 is 0 (1 - 1 = 0).
• The predecessor of 2 is 1 (2 - 1 = 1).
• The predecessor of 8 is 7 (8 - 1 = 7).

• In a queue: If you’re 12th, the 13th person is your successor; the 11th is your predecessor.

• On a calendar: The day after Tuesday (Tuesday’s successor) is Wednesday.

• When counting pages, the next page number is the successor!

• The successor of 0 is 1.
• The predecessor of 0 is not possible because there is no whole number before 0.
• The predecessor of 1 is 0.
• The predecessor of the natural number 1 is not possible because there is no whole number less than 1.