Number Sets

There are 4 types of number sets which we need to recall.

Name Symbol Description
Real Numbers All numbers on the number line.
(ie. EVERYTHING!)


Integers All whole numbers, positive,
negative and zero.
....-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,...

Natural Numbers Positive whole numbers
1, 2, 3, 4,......

Rational Numbers All numbers that can be expressed
as fractions.
Only non-repeating infinite
decimals can not be expressed
as fractions
Examples of numbers that are
NOT RATIONAL




Note:
*All Natural Numbers are Integers.
*All Integers are Rational Numbers.
*All Rational Numbers are Real Numbers.

The Note above leads to the Number Venn Diagram
resembling a dart board.










There are examples of numbers which fit into each region
(written in blue above)

Estimating: Decimal Places
In some questions, you will be asked to round to a certain
number of decimal places. The number of decimal places
tells us how many digits should be after the decimal point.
Estimating: Significant Figures

Significant figures are digits which contribute meaning to a
number and its accuracy.

Points to Note About Significant Figures
*All non-zero digits are significant.


*All zeros between significant figures are also significant.


*All zeros after significant figures AND after the decimal
points are also significant.


*Zeros at the start of a number are NOT significant.



SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
Questions sometimes ask us to change a number to
scientific notation. These questions are usually asked in this
way:

Write your answer to the previous question in the form
where and
Examples of Scientific Notation










Exact Values
In question which ask for the exact value, make sure to give
the answer EXACTLY as it is displayed in the calculator.

Percent Error
In estimation questions, we are sometimes asked to
calculate the percentage error. See the formula below.