Math Reflection #1
This week, I really struggled with prime factorization, but I think I’m finally getting a hang of it. I really learned a lot of vocabulary that I’ve never heard of before. I learned that there are many different kinds of numbers, not just regular numbers, and that everything with digits is classified as a number, ie. Fractions. I also didn’t know there was a term for regular old numbers. I learned the following:
Natural Numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
These numbers are also called counting numbers, because you learn them as a kid, and use them to count.
Whole Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
All natural numbers are whole numbers, but not all whole numbers are natural numbers. Whole numbers include 0.
Integers: -1, -2, -3… 0, 1, 2, 3…
Much like the whole numbers situation, all natural numbers and whole numbers are integers, but not all integers are whole, or natural numbers.
Rational Numbers: -9/10, 3/8, ½…
Like the other numbers, rational numbers include integers, whole number, and natural numbers. Rational numbers also include fractions.
Off to the side, we have an irrelevant type of number. These numbers are called irrational. Irrational numbers are any number that cannot be expressed by an integer. Irrational numbers can only be expressed by a decimal fraction, where their decimals go on and on, without a repeating pattern. These include: π, and square root of two, and three.