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    Lecture Notes

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    monicalingke
    This document provides a mathematics skill development module on number types, specifically distinguishing between rational and irrational numbers. It contains 5 questions that evaluate a student's understanding of rational and irrational numbers. The questions cover expressing a repeating decimal as a fraction, determining which numbers are rational, whether the sum and product of rational numbers is rational, and expressing a rational number as a quotient of integers.

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    Lecture Notes

    Uploaded by

    monicalingke
    8 views2 pages
    This document provides a mathematics skill development module on number types, specifically distinguishing between rational and irrational numbers. It contains 5 questions that evaluate a student's understanding of rational and irrational numbers. The questions cover expressing a repeating decimal as a fraction, determining which numbers are rational, whether the sum and product of rational numbers is rational, and expressing a rational number as a quotient of integers.

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    This document provides a mathematics skill development module on number types, specifically distinguishing between rational and irrational numbers. It contains 5 questions that evaluate a student's understanding of rational and irrational numbers. The questions cover expressing a repeating decimal as a fraction, determining which numbers are rational, whether the sum and product of rational numbers is rational, and expressing a rational number as a quotient of integers.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    8 views2 pages

    Lecture Notes

    Uploaded by

    monicalingke
    This document provides a mathematics skill development module on number types, specifically distinguishing between rational and irrational numbers. It contains 5 questions that evaluate a student's understanding of rational and irrational numbers. The questions cover expressing a repeating decimal as a fraction, determining which numbers are rational, whether the sum and product of rational numbers is rational, and expressing a rational number as a quotient of integers.

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    Mathematics Skill Development - Module 1

    Mathematics Skill Development - Module 1


    Number Types

    The following questions will evaluate the student’s understanding of the difference between rational and
    irrational numbers. In general, the level of difficulty increases with each question.

    1
    1. Express 11 as a repeating decimal.

    Solution:

    1
    Using long division or a calculator, we see that 11 = 0.0909090909....

    2. Which of the following are rational?


    √ √ √ √ √ √ √
    3, 2 + 1, π, −( 2 − 1)(1 + 3)(1 + 2)( 3 − 1)
    Solution:
    √
    Using a calculator, we see that 3 = 1.732050808... with no repeating pattern. Thus, it is irrational.
    √ √ √
    2 is irrational. If 2 + 1 was a rational number, we could write it in the form 2 + 1 = m n for some
    √
    integers m and n. Rearranging this equation, we have 2 = −1 + m . The right hand side is a rational
    n √
    number while the left hand side is irrational which is a contradiction. Therefore 2 + 1 cannot be a rational
    number
    √
    We claim that π is irrational. If it were rational, then we would be able to write
    √ m
    π=
    n
    2
    where m and n are integers and n 6= 0. Squaring both sides of this identity, we conclude that π = m n2 . Since
    this is√a ratio of 2 integers, we have that π is rational which is obviously not true. Thus, it must be the case
    that π is irrational.

    Finally,
    √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
    −( 2 − 1)(1 + 3)(1 + 2)( 3 − 1) = − ( 2 − 1)( 2 + 1)( 3 − 1)( 3 + 1)
    = − (2 − 1)(3 − 1)
    =−2

    which is rational.

    3. Is the sum of two rational numbers a rational? How about the product?

    Solution:

    a
    These statements are both true. If x and y are both rational numbers, then we may express x = b and
    y = dc , where a, b, c, d ∈ Z with b, d 6= 0. Then
    a c ad + bc
    x+y = + =
    b d bd

    1
    Mathematics Skill Development - Module 1

    which is again rational since bd 6= 0. So the sum of two rational numbers must be rational.

    Similarly, the product of two rationals is given by


    a c ac
    x·y = · = ,
    b d bd
    which is rational.

    4. Is the sum of irrational numbers again irrational? How about the product of two irrationals?

    Solution: These statements√ are √ not necessarily true. √


    That
    √ is they
    √ are true for some numbers but not
    for
    √ √ others.
    √ For example 2 and 3 and their product 2 3 = 6 are all irrational numbers. However
    2 2 = 4 = 2 is a rational number.
    √ √ √ √ 
    The same is true for the sums. 2 + 3 is an irrational number while 2 + − 2 = 0 is rational.

    5. Express the rational number 1.5̄ as a quotient of integers in lowest terms.

    Solution:

    If we let x = 1.5̄, then 10x = 15.5̄ = 14 + x. Subtracting x from 10x, we then have

    9x = 14
    14
    and x = 9 .

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