215k views
3 votes
Which of the following are irrational numbers?

A. pie (the number lol)
B. 4.8 repeating
C. square root of 9
D. all of the above

2 Answers

3 votes

A

The definition if a rational number us har it can be written as a ration or as a fraction. Pi is a number that keeps on going and doesnt have
have a specific
pattern unlike B, which has a pattern of 888888888888s (repeating)
User Vaness
by
8.2k points
2 votes


\pi is the only irrational number on the list. As a reminder, an irrational number is one which can't be written as a ratio of two integers.

With a little scratch work, we can show that
4.\overline{8} can be written this way:


x = 4.\overline{8}\\10x=48.\overline{8}\\10x-x=48.\overline{8}-4.\overline{8}\\9x=44\\x=(44)/(9)

And
√(9)=3, which can be written as a ratio like
(3)/(1), (6)/(2),(9)/(3), or any other where the numerator is 3 times larger than the denominator.

A proof of the irrationality of
\pi is pretty involved and advanced, so you'll just have to take my word for it for now!

User Levon Petrosyan
by
7.9k points