When you hear the words "rational" and "irrational," they might bring to mind the relentlessly analytical Spock in "Star Trek." If you're a mathematician, however, you probably think of ratios between ...

Mathematics students face challenges with rational and irrational numbers. Understanding the principles and patterns simplifies this concept. Rational numbers can be fractions of integers. Irrational ...

In this chapter, we look beyond the whole numbers at other numbers that are included in school mathematics in grades pre-K to 8, particularly in the upper grades. We first look at the rational numbers ...

When my students grow too dependent on their calculators, I ask them to find a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives them 2. Students quickly see that since 1² = 1 and 2² = 4, the answer has ...

A rational number can be written exactly in the form \(\frac{a}{b}\), where 𝑎 and 𝑏 are integers, while an irrational number cannot.