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Some real numbers have decimal expansions that eventually get into loops, endlessly repeating a sequence of one or more digits: 1 ⁄ 3 = 0.33333... 1 ⁄ 7 = 0.142857142857... 1318 ⁄ 185 = 7.1243243243... Every time this happens the number is still a rational number (i.e. can alternatively be represented as a ratio of an integer and a ...
An example of a fraction that cannot be represented by a decimal expression (with a finite number of digits) is 1 / 3 , 3 not being a power of 10. More generally, a decimal with n digits after the separator (a point or comma) represents the fraction with denominator 10 n , whose numerator is the integer obtained by removing the separator.
To change 1 / 3 to a decimal, divide 1.000... by 3 (" 3 into 1.000... "), and stop when the desired accuracy is obtained, e.g., at 4 decimals with 0.3333. The fraction 1 / 4 can be written exactly with two decimal digits, while the fraction 1 / 3 cannot be written exactly as a decimal with a finite number of digits.
A mathematical constant is a key number whose value is fixed by an unambiguous definition, often referred to by a symbol (e.g., an alphabet letter), or by mathematicians' names to facilitate using it across multiple mathematical problems. [1]
As for rational numbers, ternary offers a convenient way to represent 1 / 3 as same as senary (as opposed to its cumbersome representation as an infinite string of recurring digits in decimal); but a major drawback is that, in turn, ternary does not offer a finite representation for 1 / 2 (nor for 1 / 4 , 1 / 8 ...
The real numbers that are rational are those whose decimal expansion either terminates after a finite number of digits (example: 3/4 = 0.75), or eventually begins to repeat the same finite sequence of digits over and over (example: 9/44 = 0.20454545...
For example, in duodecimal, 1 / 2 = 0.6, 1 / 3 = 0.4, 1 / 4 = 0.3 and 1 / 6 = 0.2 all terminate; 1 / 5 = 0. 2497 repeats with period length 4, in contrast with the equivalent decimal expansion of 0.2; 1 / 7 = 0. 186A35 has period 6 in duodecimal, just as it does in decimal. If b is an integer base ...
3 / 7 1-digit-denominator Approximating a fraction by a fractional decimal number: 5 / 3 1.6667: 4 decimal places: Approximating a fractional decimal number by one with fewer digits 2.1784: 2.18 2 decimal places Approximating a decimal integer by an integer with more trailing zeros 23217: 23200: 3 significant figures