What Are Numbers?

In math, we deal with many kinds of numbers. Two important types of numbers are rational and irrational numbers.

Rational Numbers

Rational numbers are numbers that can be written as a/b, where a and b are integers, and b is not zero. This means a rational number can be a whole number, a fraction, or a decimal that stops. For example, 1/2, 3, and 0.75 are all rational.

Irrational Numbers

Irrational numbers cannot be expressed as a/b. They go on forever without repeating. A famous example of an irrational number is π (pi), which is about 3.14159. Another example is the square root of 2, which is often written as √2 and is about 1.41421.

How to Identify Rational and Irrational Numbers

To know if a number is rational or irrational, check if it can be written as a fraction. If yes, it’s rational. If it has a non-repeating decimal, it’s irrational. For example, 0.333… is rational because it is the same as 1/3. But 0.1010010001… is irrational.

Practice Makes Perfect

Understanding these differences helps you solve many math problems. Knowing how to identify rational and irrational numbers is very important, especially as you learn more advanced math. Keep practicing, and you will get better at it!

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