rational number

In mathematics, a rational number is a

number

that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction of two integers, a numerator and a non-zero denominator . For example, is a rational number, as is every integer (e.g. ). The set of all rational numbers, also referred to as "the rationals", the field of rationals or the field of rational numbers is usually denoted by a boldface (or

blackboard bold

$\mathbb$, Unicode or ); it was thus denoted in 1895 by

Giuseppe Peano

after '' quoziente'', Italian for "quotient", and first appeared in Bourbaki's ''Algèbre''.

The decimal expansion of a rational number either terminates after a finite number of digits (example: ), or eventually begins to repeat the same finite

sequence

of digits over and over (example: ). Conversely, any repeating or terminating decimal represents a rational number. These statements are true in base 10, and in every other integer

base

(for example, binary or hexadecimal).

A real number that is not rational is called irrational. Irrational numbers include ,

, , and . The decimal expansion of an irrational number continues without repeating. Since the set of rational numbers is countable, and the set of real numbers is uncountable, almost all real numbers are irrational.

Rational numbers can be formally defined as equivalence classes of pairs of integers with , using the equivalence relation defined as follows:
: $\left( p_1, q_1 \right) \sim \left( p_2, q_2 \right) \iff p_1 q_2 = p_2 q_1.$
The fraction then denotes the equivalence class of .

Rational numbers together with

addition

and

multiplication

form a field which contains the integers, and is contained in any field containing the integers. In other words, the field of rational numbers is a prime field, and a field has characteristic zero if and only if it contains the rational numbers as a subfield. Finite extensions of are called algebraic number fields, and the algebraic closure of is the field of algebraic numbers.

In mathematical analysis, the rational numbers form a dense subset of the real numbers. The real numbers can be constructed from the rational numbers by completion, using Cauchy sequences, Dedekind cuts, or infinite decimals (for more, see Construction of the real numbers).

Terminology

The term ''rational'' in reference to the set refers to the fact that a rational number represents a ''

ratio

'' of two integers. In mathematics, "rational" is often used as a noun abbreviating "rational number". The adjective ''rational'' sometimes means that the coefficients are rational numbers. For example, a rational point is a point with rational

coordinates

(i.e., a point whose coordinates are rational numbers); a ''rational matrix'' is a matrix of rational numbers; a ''rational polynomial'' may be a polynomial with rational coefficients, although the term "polynomial over the rationals" is generally preferred, to avoid confusion between " rational expression" and "

rational function

" (a

polynomial

is a rational expression and defines a rational function, even if its coefficients are not rational numbers). However, a rational curve ''is not'' a curve defined over the rationals, but a curve which can be parameterized by rational functions.

Etymology

Although nowadays ''rational numbers'' are defined in terms of ''ratios'', the term ''rational'' is not a derivation of ''ratio''. On the opposite, it is ''ratio'' that is derived from ''rational'': the first use of ''ratio'' with its modern meaning was attested in English about 1660, while the use of ''rational'' for qualifying numbers appeared almost a century earlier, in 1570. This meaning of ''rational'' came from the mathematical meaning of ''irrational'', which was first used in 1551, and it was used in "translations of Euclid (following his peculiar use of )".

This unusual history originated in the fact that ancient Greeks "avoided heresy by forbidding themselves from thinking of those rrationallengths as numbers". So such lengths were ''irrational'', in the sense of ''illogical'', that is "not to be spoken about" ( in Greek).

This etymology is similar to that of ''imaginary'' numbers and ''real'' numbers.

Arithmetic

Irreducible fraction

Every rational number may be expressed in a unique way as an irreducible fraction , where and are coprime integers and . This is often called the canonical form of the rational number.

Starting from a rational number , its canonical form may be obtained by dividing and by their

greatest common divisor

, and, if , changing the sign of the resulting numerator and denominator.

Embedding of integers

Any integer can be expressed as the rational number , which is its canonical form as a rational number.

Equality

:$\frac = \frac$ if and only if $ad = bc$

If both fractions are in canonical form, then:
:$\frac = \frac$ if and only if $a = c$ and $b = d$

Ordering

If both denominators are positive (particularly if both fractions are in canonical form):
:$\frac < \frac$ if and only if $ad < bc.$

On the other hand, if either denominator is negative, then each fraction with a negative denominator must first be converted into an equivalent form with a positive denominator—by changing the signs of both its numerator and denominator.

Addition

Two fractions are added as follows:
:$\frac + \frac = \frac.$

If both fractions are in canonical form, the result is in canonical form if and only if and are coprime integers.

Subtraction

:$\frac - \frac = \frac.$

If both fractions are in canonical form, the result is in canonical form if and only if and are coprime integers.

Multiplication

The rule for multiplication is:
:$\frac \cdot\frac = \frac.$

where the result may be a reducible fraction—even if both original fractions are in canonical form.

Inverse

Every rational number has an additive inverse, often called its ''opposite'',
:$- \left( \frac \right) = \frac.$
If is in canonical form, the same is true for its opposite.

A nonzero rational number has a

multiplicative inverse

, also called its ''reciprocal'',
:$\left(\frac\right)^ = \frac.$
If is in canonical form, then the canonical form of its reciprocal is either or , depending on the sign of .

Division

If , , and are nonzero, the division rule is
:$\frac = \frac.$

Thus, dividing by is equivalent to multiplying by the

reciprocal

of :
:$\frac = \frac \cdot \frac.$

Exponentiation to integer power

If is a non-negative integer, then
:$\left(\frac\right)^n = \frac.$
The result is in canonical form if the same is true for . In particular,
:$\left(\frac\right)^0 = 1.$

If , then
:$\left(\frac\right)^ = \frac.$
If is in canonical form, the canonical form of the result is if or is even. Otherwise, the canonical form of the result is .

Continued fraction representation

A finite continued fraction is an expression such as
:$a_0 + \cfrac,$
where are integers. Every rational number can be represented as a finite continued fraction, whose coefficients can be determined by applying the Euclidean algorithm to .

Other representations

* common fraction:
* mixed numeral:
* repeating decimal using a vinculum:
* repeating decimal using parentheses:
* continued fraction using traditional typography:
* continued fraction in abbreviated notation:
* Egyptian fraction:
* prime power decomposition:
* quote notation:

are different ways to represent the same rational value.

Formal construction

The rational numbers may be built as equivalence classes of

ordered pair

s of integers.

More precisely, let be the set of the pairs of integers such . An equivalence relation is defined on this set by
: $\left(m_1, n_1 \right) \sim \left(m_2, n_2 \right) \iff m_1 n_2 = m_2 n_1.$

Addition and multiplication can be defined by the following rules:
:$\left(m_1, n_1\right) + \left(m_2, n_2\right) \equiv \left(m_1n_2 + n_1m_2, n_1n_2\right),$
:$\left(m_1, n_1\right) \times \left(m_2, n_2\right) \equiv \left(m_1m_2, n_1n_2\right).$

This equivalence relation is a congruence relation, which means that it is compatible with the addition and multiplication defined above; the set of rational numbers is the defined as the quotient set by this equivalence relation, , equipped with the addition and the multiplication induced by the above operations. (This construction can be carried out with any integral domain and produces its field of fractions.)

The equivalence class of a pair is denoted .
Two pairs and belong to the same equivalence class (that is are equivalent) if and only if . This means that if and only .

Every equivalence class may be represented by infinitely many pairs, since
:$\cdots = \frac = \frac = \frac = \frac = \cdots.$
Each equivalence class contains a unique '' canonical representative element''. The canonical representative is the unique pair in the equivalence class such that and are coprime, and . It is called the representation in lowest terms of the rational number.

The integers may be considered to be rational numbers identifying the integer with the rational number .

A total order may be defined on the rational numbers, that extends the natural order of the integers. One has
:$\frac \le \frac$
if
:$(n_1n_2 > 0 \quad \text \quad m_1n_2 \le n_1m_2)\qquad \text\qquad (n_1n_2 < 0 \quad \text \quad m_1n_2 \ge n_1m_2).$

Properties

The set of all rational numbers, together with the addition and multiplication operations shown above, forms a field.

has no field automorphism other than the identity.

With the order defined above, is an ordered field that has no subfield other than itself, and is the smallest ordered field, in the sense that every ordered field contains a unique subfield

isomorphic

to .

is a prime field, which is a field that has no subfield other than itself. The rationals are the smallest field with characteristic zero. Every field of characteristic zero contains a unique subfield isomorphic to .

is the field of fractions of the integers . The algebraic closure of , i.e. the field of roots of rational polynomials, is the field of algebraic numbers.

The set of all rational numbers is countable (see the figure), while the set of all real numbers (as well as the set of irrational numbers) is uncountable. Being countable, the set of rational numbers is a null set, that is, almost all real numbers are irrational, in the sense of Lebesgue measure.

The rationals are a densely ordered set: between any two rationals, there sits another one, and, therefore, infinitely many other ones. For example, for any two fractions such that
:$\frac < \frac$
(where $b,d$ are positive), we have
:$\frac < \frac < \frac.$

Any totally ordered set which is countable, dense (in the above sense), and has no least or greatest element is order isomorphic to the rational numbers.

Real numbers and topological properties

The rationals are a dense subset of the real numbers: every real number has rational numbers arbitrarily close to it. A related property is that rational numbers are the only numbers with finite expansions as regular continued fractions.

By virtue of their order, the rationals carry an order topology. The rational numbers, as a subspace of the real numbers, also carry a

subspace topology

. The rational numbers form a metric space by using the

absolute difference

metric , and this yields a third topology on . All three topologies coincide and turn the rationals into a topological field. The rational numbers are an important example of a space which is not locally compact. The rationals are characterized topologically as the unique countable metrizable space without isolated points. The space is also totally disconnected. The rational numbers do not form a complete metric space; the

real numbers

are the completion of under the metric above.

-adic numbers

In addition to the absolute value metric mentioned above, there are other metrics which turn into a topological field:

Let be a prime number and for any non-zero integer , let , where is the highest power of

dividing

.

In addition set . For any rational number , we set .

Then defines a metric on .

The metric space is not complete, and its completion is the -adic number field . Ostrowski's theorem states that any non-trivial absolute value on the rational numbers is equivalent to either the usual real absolute value or a -adic absolute value.

See also

*

Dyadic rational

*Floating point
*Ford circles
*Gaussian rational
*

Naive height—height of a rational number in lowest term

*Niven's theorem
* Rational data type
*'' Divine Proportions: Rational Trigonometry to Universal Geometry''

References

External links

*
"Rational Number" From MathWorld – A Wolfram Web Resource

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Elementary mathematics
Field (mathematics)
Fractions (mathematics)