CHAPTER 2 Operations with Rational Numbers and Introduction to Real Numbers

All the numbers we use in the intermediate algebra course are real numbers. The chart below shows us how the number sets we use in algebra fit together. In this chapter we will work with rational numbers, but you will be also introduced to irrational numbers. The set of rational numbers together with the set of irrational numbers make up the set of real numbers.

This figure consists of a Venn diagram. To start there is a large rectangle marked Real Numbers. The right half of the rectangle consists of Irrational Numbers. The left half consists of Rational Numbers. Within the Rational Numbers rectangle, there are Integers …, negative 2, negative 1, 0, 1, 2, …. Within the Integers rectangle, there are Whole Numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, … Within the Whole Numbers rectangle, there are Counting Numbers 1, 2, 3, …

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Introductory Algebra Copyright © 2021 by Izabela Mazur is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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