Difference between rational and irrational numbers with examples

Solution:

Numbers that can be expressed in a/b or fraction form are rational numbers where a is an integer and b is a non-zero integer and an irrational number are the numbers that cannot be written in a/b form.

A rational number will contain numbers whose decimal expansion is finite or recurring in nature. For example, 1.67 and 3.666... are rational numbers.

These numbers can be represented in a fractional form as p/q, where p and q are integers and q is non-zero. 

While all the other sorts of real numbers fall under the irrational number category. For example, 1.616116111... is an irrational number and also includes √2, √3, √5, √7...

Therefore, numbers that can be expressed in a/b or fraction form is a rational number, a number which cannot be expressed in a ratio of two numbers is irrational numbers.


What is the difference between a rational and irrational number?

Summary:

Numbers which can be expressed in a/b or fraction form is a rational number, a number which cannot be expressed in a ratio of two numbers is irrational numbers

By Aina Parasher|Updated : June 20th, 2022

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What is the Difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers?

The main difference between rational and irrational numbers is that a number that may be written in a ratio of two integers is known as a rational number whereas, a number that cannot be represented in the form of a ratio of two integers is called an irrational number. Further, let us look at the various differences mentioned in the table below.

Key Difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers

Rational Numbers Irrational Numbers
Rational numbers can be expressed in the form of p/q. Irrational numbers cannot be expressed in the form of p/q.
Both the numerator and denominator are full numbers in rational numbers, and the denominator is not zero. A fraction cannot be written for an irrational number.
Rational numbers include perfect squares like 9, 16, 25, etc. Irrational numbers include surds like 2, 3, 5, 7, etc.
Only finite and repeating decimals are included in the rational number.  Irrational numbers, are those whose decimal expansion is limitless, non-repetitive, and has no pattern.

What are Rational and Irrational Numbers?

If a number can be expressed as a fraction with both the numerator and denominator being integers and the denominator being a natural number, it is said to be rational (a non-zero number). All rational numbers are integers, fractions, including mixed fractions, recurring decimals, finite decimals, and so on.

When a number cannot be reduced to any fraction of an integer or a natural number, it is said to be an irrational number. It can also be interpreted as an irrational number. The irrational number's decimal expansion is neither finite nor recurrent. Surds and unusual numbers such as pi and e are examples of irrational numbers.

You can also check the number system here.

How Can you Tell the Difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers?

All integers, fractions, and repeating decimals are rational numbers, and they can be stated in fractions. The following conditions can be used to identify rational numbers:

  • It's written as a/b, where b≠0.
  • The a/b ratio can also be simplified and represented in decimal form.

Numbers that are not reasonable are referred to as irrational. Irrational numbers can be expressed in decimal form but not in fractions, implying that they cannot be expressed as a ratio of two integers.

After the decimal point, rational numbers have an endless amount of non-repeating digits.

Examples of Rational and Irrational Numbers

Following the discussion of the difference between rational and irrational numbers. Let's look at some examples of these two to understand the concept of rational and irrational numbers completely.

  • 6 - Rational number, terminating, and non-repeating in nature.
  • 4/5 - Rational number, in the form p/q, and q≠0.
  • √7 - Irrational number, is the square root of a number that is not a perfect square.
  • √16 - Rational number, is the square root of a perfect square and the value is 4.

FAQs on Difference Between Rational and Irrational Numbers

  • What is the difference between rational and irrational numbers?

  • How can we identify the difference between rational and irrational number?

  • Are all rational numbers whole numbers?

  • How to identify if a number is an irrational number?

  • Which of the following numbers is not an irrational number? √7 , √5 , √16 , √11.

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