Integers & Rational Numbers

Welcome to the new unit on Integers and the Coordinate Plane.  In class we talked about two categories of numbers.  Integers are any positive or negative whole number including zero.  Essentially any whole number and its opposite is considered an integers (for example 4 and -4 are opposites).  The other category is called rational numbers.  Rational numbers are numbers that can be converted into fractions.  Decimals that repeat in consistent patterns or that terminate can be converted into fractions.  Numbers like pi or phi can not be converted into fractions because the decimal does not terminate and there is no consistent pattern with the digits.  These numbers are called irrational.

One clue to remember what a rational number is to look at the word rational itself.  RATIOnal.  Notice the root of the word is ratio.  Remember ratios are the comparison of one quantity to another (numerators as compared to denominators) and are typically written in fraction form.

A set of integers ordered least to greatest may be {-5, -1, 0, 4,  10}

A set of rational numbers ordered least to greatest may be {-3/5, -.25, 1, 1/2, .4444....}