SUBSETS OF REAL NUMBERS

The number of survey participants who declined to respond can be represented by the decimal
0.14141414... How would you write this decimal as a fraction?
By being able to write a repeating decimal as fraction, we know it is a rational number.

Real Numbers

There are several types of real numbers. You are probably familiar with fractions, decimals, integers, whole
numbers and even square roots. All of these types of numbers are real numbers. There are two main types
of numbers: real and complex. We will address real numbers in this concept.

A number that can be positive or negative and have decimal

Real Numbers places after the point. Examples:
(ℝ) 8, 4.67, −13, π
Any number that can be plotted on a number line.

Rational Examples:
Any number that can be written as a fraction, including
Numbers
repeating decimals. − , , 1. ̅ ,
(ℚ)

Irrational
Real numbers that are not rational. When written as a Examples:
Numbers
decimal, these numbers do not end nor repeat. e, π, −√2, 3√5
(ℚ’)

Integers Examples:
All positive and negative “counting” numbers and zero.
(ℤ) -4, 6, 23, -10

Whole
Examples:
Numbers All positive “counting” numbers and zero.
0, 1, 2, 3, ...
(𝕎)

Natural
Examples:
Numbers All positive “counting” numbers.
1, 2, 3, ...
(ℕ)

Complex Examples:
Combination of a real number and an imaginary number.
Numbers 1 + i, 39 + 3i, 0.8 − 2.2i,
(a + bi)
(ℂ) −2 + πi, √2 + i/2

Imaginary
Numbers Numbers that when squared give a negative result. This can Examples:
(ⅈ) never happen with real numbers. √−1 = i , √−16 = 4i
A counting number is any number that can be counted on your fingers.

The real numbers can be grouped together as follows:

Now, let's do the following problems using the different subset of real numbers.

1. What is the most specific subset of the real numbers that -7 is a part of?
Answer: -7 is an integer.

2. List all the subsets that 1.3 lies in.

Answer: 1.3 is a terminating decimal. Therefore, it is considered a rational number. It would also be
a real number. As a fraction, we would write 1310 because the 3 is in the tenths position after the
decimal.
3. True or False: 83 is a rational number.
Answer: Yes, by definition, because it is written as a fraction.

Examples
1. Earlier, you were asked to write 0.14141414.... as a fraction.
Let's devise a step-by-step process.
 Step 1: Set your repeating decimal equal to x. x=0.14141414
 Step 2: Find the repeating digit(s).
In this case 14 is repeating.
 Step 3: Move the repeating digits to the left of the decimal point and leave the remaining
digits to the right.
14.14141414
 Step 4: Multiply x by the same factor you multiplied your original repeating decimal to get
your new repeating decimal.
14.14141414=100(0.14141414)
100x=14.14141414
 Step 5: Solve your system of linear equations for x.
(100x=14.14141414)−(x=0.14141414)
99x=14
x=

2. Write 0.327272727... as a fraction.

The 0.3 does not repeat. So, rewrite this as 0.727272727...−0.4 Therefore, the fraction will be:
7299−410811−254055−22551855

3. What type of real number is √5?

√5 is an irrational number because, when converted to a decimal, it does not end nor does it repeat.

4. List all the subsets that -8 is a part of.

-8 is a negative integer. Therefore, it is also a rational number and a real number.

5. True or False: −√9 is an irrational number.

 −√9=−3, which is an integer. The statement is false.

Review

What is the most specific subset of real numbers that the following numbers belong in?
1. 5.67
2. −√6
3.
4. 0
5. -75
6. √16

List ALL the subsets that the following numbers are a part of.
7. 4
8.
9. π

Determine if the following statements are true or false.

10. Integers are rational numbers.
11. Every whole number is a real number.
12. Integers are irrational numbers.
13. A natural number is a rational number.
14. An irrational number is a real number.
15. Zero is a natural number.

Rewrite the following repeating decimals as fractions.

16. 0.4646464646...
17. 0.81212121212...
18. 0.35050505050...
19. 2.485485485485485...
20. 1.25141414141414...
COMPLEX NUMBERS
A Complex Number is a combination of a Real Number and an Imaginary Number.

Examples: 1+i 39 + 3i 0.8 − 2.2i −2 + πi √2 + i/2

Either Part Can Be Zero

So, a Complex Number has a real part and an imaginary part.

But either part can be 0, so all Real Numbers and Imaginary Numbers are also Complex Numbers.
Complex Real Part Imaginary Part
Number
3 + 2i 3 2
5 5 0 Purely Real
−6i 0 −6 Purely Imaginary

Adding
To add two complex numbers we add each part separately:
(a+bi) + (c+di) = (a+c) + (b+d)i
 Add the real numbers, and
 Add the imaginary numbers:

Examples:
Add the complex numbers 3 + 2i and 1 + 7i Add the complex numbers 3 + 5i and 4 − 3i
(3 + 2i) + (1 + 7i) (3 + 5i) + (4 − 3i)
= 3 + 1 + (2 + 7)i = 3 + 4 + (5 − 3)i
= 4 + 9i = 7 + 2i

Multiplying
To multiply complex numbers:
 Each part of the first complex number gets multiplied by
 each part of the second complex number

Just use "FOIL", which stands for "Firsts, Outers, Inners, Lasts":
Examples:
(3 + 2i)(1 + 7i) (1 + i)2
= 3×1 + 3×7i + 2i×1+ 2i×7i (1 + i)(1 + i)
= 3 + 21i + 2i + 14i2 = 1×1 + 1×i + 1×i + i2
= 3 + 21i + 2i − 14 (because i2 = −1) = 1 + 2i − 1 (because i2 = −1)
= −11 + 23i = 0 + 2i

Conjugates
A conjugate is where we change the sign in the middle like this:

A conjugate is often written with a bar over it:

̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅ = 5 + 3i

Dividing
The conjugate is used to help complex division.

The trick is to multiply both top and bottom by the conjugate of the bottom.

Example:

Multiply top and bottom by the conjugate of 4 − 5i :

× =

Now remember that i2 = −1, so:

Add Like Terms (and notice how on the bottom 20i − 20i cancels out!):

Lastly we should put the answer back into a + bi form:

= + i

DONE!