Question

A student clamied that the number -4 is not rational because it is not a ratio of two integers. Do you agree or disagree?​

Answer 1

I agree.

Solution:

• Every single integer can be written as a fraction.
• Please remember that the set of integers includes negative numbers, zero, and positive numbers.
• In this case, we have a negative number (the minus sign in front of the number tells us it is negative).
• So, how can we write an integer as a fraction?
• Every integer can be written as a fraction with a denominator of 1.
• Therefore, the answer is:
• -4/1
• So, is 4 rational? Yes, because it can be written as a fraction.

Hope it helps.

Do comment if you have any query.

Answer 2

I disagree.

Explanation:

An integer is a whole number ranging from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.

A ratio of two integers with -4 could be -4/1, so -4 is a rational number.