Basic Mathematical Concepts

1. Numbers

 

Types of numbers :

  • Real Numbers

    Any number which contains a real value i.e. it can be expressed on a number line is called real number. For example 1/2, 5 , 5.677,√2 etc
  •   Imaginary Numbers

    These numbers do no have a real value, and they cannot  exist on a number line. For example √-1,√-5 etc

Real Numbers can be further classified into :

  • Natural Numbers (N)

    These are numbers that can exist in nature, and can be counted with such as 1,2,3,4,...
  • Whole Numbers

    Whole numbers are the collection of all natural numbers as well as zero. So whole nos are 0,1,2,3,4,...
    • 0 is the only whole number which is not a natural number

  • Integers (Z)

    These are the collection of zero, natural numbers, and their negative values.
    • Z = {... -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ... }
    • 0 is neither a positive integer nor a negative integer.
  • Rational Numbers (Q)

    The numbers which can be represented in the form p/q , where p and q are integers and q is not equal to 0.
    •  = {... -2, -1, -0.5, -0.33, 0, 0.46, 0.55, 1, ... }
    • All integers are also Rational Numbers

  • Irrational Numbers

    These numbers cannot be expressed in the form of p/q, such that both p and q are integers, and q is not equal to zero.
    •  =  {... -√3, -√2, √2, √3, √4 ...} (Note that -√2 is different from √-2)
    •  When expressed in decimal form, these have non-terminating, non-repeating expansions. For example √2 = 1.41421356237309... (this is only an approximate value)

Natural Numbers are often classified into :

  • Even Numbers: A number is said to be even if it is perfectly divisible by 2. For example : 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 etc

  • Odd Numbers: A number is said to be odd if it is not perfectly divisible by 2, ie, when you get a remainder when dividing it by 2. For example: 1, 3, 5, 7 etc

  • Prime Numbers: A number is said to be prime if it is perfectly divisible only by 1 and itself. For example : 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 etc

    • 2 is the only even prime number.

  • Composite Numbers: A number is said to be composite if it is perfectly divisible by atleast one number other than 1 and itself. For example: 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15 etc

    • One is neither a  prime number nor a composite number.


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