To convert a rational number to a decimal divide the numerator by the denominator.
If the denominator contains any prime factor other than 2 and/or 5, the decimal will not terminate but end with one or more digits recurring. In this case it is either rounded or written with a dot over the first and last recurring digits (if only one digit recurs then a single dot is placed over that digit at the end of the decimal).
As it is not always possible to type the correct format with dots over recurring digits, I will often write the recurring digit(s) three times followed by an ellipsis (three full stops together) to mean "and so on", ie the decimal repeats.
Chat with our AI personalities
Rational numbers are numbers that can be written as a fraction. A whole number is a number with no decimals.
Yes, terminating decimals are always rational numbers.
No. Recurring decimals are rational numbers.
Yes. Rational numbers are numbers or decimals that repeat or terminate. Irrational numbers do not. For example π is an irrational number.
A decimal is a way of representing a number in such a way that the place value of each digit is ten times that of the digit to its right. Any number can have a decimal representation. Rational numbers have decimal representations that are either terminating or recurring whereas non-recurring decimals represent irrational numbers.