positiivisetnegatiiviset

Positiivisetnegatiiviset is a Finnish term used to denote the dichotomy between positive and negative values, directions, or qualifiers. The phrase appears in mathematics, science, and everyday language to distinguish items that lie on opposite sides of a reference point, such as zero or a baseline.

In mathematics, positives are numbers greater than zero and negatives are numbers less than zero. Zero is considered neutral, not positive and not negative. A number line illustrates these signs, with operations obeying sign rules: addition and subtraction may move a value toward or away from zero, and multiplication or division follows that a product or quotient is positive when the signs of the factors are the same and negative when they differ. The absolute value of a number gives its distance from zero, disregarding sign.

Beyond pure numbers, positives and negatives describe polarity, direction, or evaluative attributes. In physics and engineering, sign conventions label quantities such as voltage, current, or force. In data interpretation and statistics, the sign conveys deviations from a reference value or model predictions. In linguistics or semantics, positive and negative may modify adjectives or statements to indicate approval or disapproval, presence or absence.

See also: Positive number, Negative number, Absolute value.