Quicker Maths
2Jan/101

Difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers

What is the difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers?

Rational Numbers: - Every integer and fractions are rational numbers. It can always be denoted as p/q, where p and q are integers and q is not equal to 0.

Thus for example the rationals include {0, 5/2, -18, -4/3, 27/5}. We unually write rational numbers in their lowest terms, for example 8/10 is usually written 4/5. We commonly write rationals in decimal form, so that 1/4 is the same as 0.25, 13/8 = 1.625 and 4/5 = 0.8. Some rationals, however, when written in decimal form don't stop a few places after the decimal. For example 1/3 = 0.333..., 10/11 = 0.909090... and 3/13 = 0.230769230769... When you write a rational number in decimal form you obtain either a decimal that stops after a finite number of terms, or a pattern that repeats as in the latter three examples.

Irrational Numbers: - Infinite non-recurring decimal number can be expressed as an irrational number.

If you construct a decimal that does not terminate and does not repeat it is not a rational number. For example 0.102003000400005... Numbers that are not rational are called irrational. The most famous of these is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, called . is approximately 3.14159265358979323846; no matter how far we take the decimal expansion, it never repeats. Another irrational number is  which is approximately 1.4142135623731.

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  1. Any root of an integer is either an integer or an irrational number.

    Pi is more than just an irrational number. It cannot be the root of any algebraic equation and so it is called transcendental. Another such number is “e”.


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