NUMBER SYSTEM

The Natural Numbers

The natural (or counting) numbers are 1,2,3,4,5, etc. There are infinitely many
natural numbers. The set of natural numbers, {1,2,3,4,5,...} , is sometimes written
N

The Whole Numbers

The whole numbers are the natural numbers together with 0.

(Note: a few textbooks disagree and say the natural numbers include 0)

Note:
The sum of any two natural numbers is also a natural number (for example,
4+2000=2004), and the product of any two natural numbers is a natural number
(4×2000=8000).

This is not true for subtraction and division, though.

The Integers
The integers are the set of real numbers consisting of the natural numbers, their
additive inverses and zero.

{...,−5,−4,−3,−2,−1,0,1,2,3,4,5,...}

The set of integers is sometimes written J or Z

  The sum, product, and difference of any two integers is also an integer. But
this is not true for division... just try 1÷2

The Rational Numbers

The rational numbers are those numbers which can be expressed as a ratio
between two integers. For example, the fractions 13 and −11118 are both rational
numbers. All the integers are included in the rational numbers, since any integer z
can be written as the ratio z1

All decimals which terminate are rational numbers (since 8.27

can be written as 827100. )

Decimals which have a repeating pattern after some points are also rationals: for
example,

0.0833333....=11/2

The set of rational numbers is closed under all four basic operations, that is, given
any two rational numbers, their sum, difference, product, and quotient is also a
rational number (as long as we don't divide by 0).

The Irrational Numbers

An irrational number is a number that cannot be written as a ratio (or fraction). In
decimal form, it never ends or repeats. The ancient Greeks discovered that not all
numbers are rational; there are equations that cannot be solved using ratios of
integers.

The first such equation to be studied was 2=x^2

. What number times itself equals 2?

√2
is about 1.414

, because 1.4142=1.999396

, which is close to 2

. But you'll never hit exactly by squaring a fraction (or terminating decimal). The
square root of 2 is an irrational number, meaning its decimal equivalent goes on
forever, with no repeating pattern:

2√=1.41421356237309...

Other famous irrational numbers are the golden ratio,

1+5√2=1.61803398874989...

(pi), the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter:

π=3.14159265358979...

and e

, the most important number in calculus:

e=2.71828182845904...

The Real Numbers

The real numbers is the set of numbers containing all of the rational numbers and
all of the irrational numbers. The real numbers are “all the numbers” on the
number line. There are infinitely many real numbers just as there are infinitely
many numbers in each of the other sets of numbers. But, it can be proved that
the infinity of the real numbers is a bigger infinity.
The Complex Numbers

The complex numbers are the set {a+bi}

A and b are real numbers}, where i

is the imaginary unit, √-1

The complex numbers include the set of real numbers. The real numbers, in the
complex system, are written in the form a+0i=a a real number.

This set is sometimes written as C for short. The set of complex numbers is
important because for any polynomial p(x)

with real number coefficients, all the solutions of p(x)=0 will be in C

 B
asic Properties of Real Numbers
The basic properties of real numbers are used to determine the order in which
you simplify math expressions. The basic properties of real numbers include the
following:

 The Closure Property

 The Commutative Property
 The Associative Property
 The Distributive Property

The Closure Properties

Real numbers are closed under addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
That means if a and b are real numbers, then a + b is a unique real number, and a ⋅
b is a unique real number.

For example:

3 and 11 are real numbers.

3 + 11 = 14 and 3 ⋅ 11 = 33 A right-pointing arrow Notice that both 14 and 33 are

real numbers.

Any time you add, subtract, or multiply two real numbers, the result will be a real
number.

Although this property seems obvious, some collections are not closed under
certain operations.

The Commutative Properties

The commutative properties tell you that two numbers can be added or multiplied
in any order without affecting the result.

Let a and b represent real numbers.

Commutative Property Commutative Property

of Addition of Multiplication
 a+b=b+a a  ⋅ b = b  ⋅ a

Commutative Properties: Examples

3+4=4+3 Both equal 7

Both represent the same

5+7=7+5
sum

4⋅8=8⋅4 Both equal 32

Both represent the same

y7 = 7y
product

Both represent the same

5 (3+1) = (3+1) 5
product

(9 + 4) (5 + 2) = (5 + 2) Both represent the same

(9 + 4) product

Practice Exercise

6+5=()+6

m + 12 = 12 + ( )

9⋅7=()⋅9

6a  = a ( )

4 (k − 5) = ( ) 4

(9a −1)( ) = (2b + 7)(9a − 1)

The Associative Properties
The associative properties tell you that you may group together the quantities in
any way without affecting the result.

(Let a, b, and c represent real numbers.)

Associative Property of Associative Property of

Addition Multiplication

(a + b) + c = a + (b + c) (ab) c = a (bc)

Associative Property of Addition

(2 + 6) + 1 = 2 + (6 + 1)
8+1 = 2+7
9 = 9 both equal 9
Associative Property of Multiplication
(2 ⋅ 3) ⋅ 5 = 2 ⋅ (3 ⋅ 5)
6⋅5 = 2 ⋅ 15
30 = 30 both equal 30

The Distributive Properties

When you were first introduced to multiplication, you most likely recognized that
it was developed as a description for repeated addition.

Consider this: 4 + 4 + 4 = 3 ⋅ 4

Notice that there are three 4s; that is, 4 appears three times. Hence, 3 times 4.
Algebra is generalized arithmetic, and you can now make an important
generalization.

When the number a is added repeatedly, meaning n times, we have a + a + a + ⋯

+ a (a appears n times)
Then, using multiplication as a description for repeated addition, you can replace
a + a + a + ⋯ + a with n (a).

Example 1: x + x + x + x can be written as 4x since x is repeatedly added 4 times.

x + x + x + x = 4x

Example 2: r + r can be written as 2r since r is repeatedly added 2 times.

r + r = 2r

The distributive property involves both multiplication and addition. Take a look at
the explanation below.

Rewrite 4(a + b).

STEP 1: You proceed by reading 4(a + b) as multiplication: 4 times the quantity (a +

b)

This directs you to write:

4(a + b) = (a + b) + (a + b) + (a + b) + (a + b) = a + b +a + b + a + b + a + b

STEP 2: Now you use the commutative property of addition to collect all the a′s
together and all the b′s together.

This directs you to write:

4(a + b) = a + a + a + a + b + b + b + b

4a′s + 4b′s

STEP 3: Now, you use multiplication as a description for repeated addition.

This directs us to write:

4(a + b) = 4a + 4b

You have distributed the 4 over the sum to both a and b.

The product of four and the expression, a plus b, is equal to four a plus four b. The
distributive property is shown by the arrows from four to each term of expression
a plus b in the product.