Learning Resources
Outcomes
By the end of this lesson you will be able to answer questions like the ones in the pre-test below.
If you prefer, you can proceed directly to the first page of the lesson without doing the pre-test. To do this simply click on the Lesson button above.
Alternately you can first answer the questions on the pre-test below in your Math 3103 binder. Then refer only to the pages of the lesson that contain instruction on the questions for which you get an incorrect answer or for which you would like some further explanation.
Pre-test
- Classify each of the following numbers according to ALL the subsets of the real numbers to which it belongs, i.e. tell if the number is a natural number, a whole number, an integer, a rational number, an irrational number, a real number.
| (a) 5 | (b) -3 | (c)  |
(d)  |
|
(e)  |
(f) 0 | (g)  |
(h)  |
|
| (i) -2.5p | (j) 6.4/.08 |
By the end of this section you should be able to:
- Identify a given number as belonging to the various subsets of the real numbers.
- Recognize situations in which the various subsets of the real numbers can be applied.
- Write either a sentence or an inequality to describe domain and range for various problem situations.
Introduction
This section consists of two lessons as follows:
Lesson 01 Subsets of the Real Numbers
This lesson defines the various subsets of the real numbers, viz. natural numbers, whole numbers, integers, rational numbers and irrational numbers.
It shows how to identify the subset of the real numbers to which a given number belongs.
Lesson 02 Using the Subsets to Define Domain and Range
This lesson looks at various problem situations and shows how to write the domain and/or range using the appropriate subset of the real numbers.
Prerequisites
To be successful in this lesson, it would be helpful to know the following:
- The numbers that constitute the real number system and its various subsets.