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Common Number Sets
There are sets of numbers that are used so often they have special names and
symbols:
Symbol Description
Natural Numbers
The whole numbers from 1 upwards. (Or from 0 upwards in some fields of
mathematics). Read More ->
The set is {1,2,3,...} or {0,1,2,3,...}
Integers
The whole numbers {1,2,3,...}, negative whole numbers {..., -3,-2,-1} and zero
{0}. So the set is {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}
-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(Z is from the German "Zahlen" meaning numbers, because I is used for the set of
imaginary numbers). Read More ->
Common Number Sets
Rational Numbers
The numbers you can make by dividing one integer by another (but not dividing by
zero). In other words fractions . Read More ->
Examples: 3/2 (=1.5), 8/4 (=2), 136/100 (=1.36), -1/1000 (=-0.001)
Q is for "quotient" (because R is used for the set of real numbers): the result of
dividing one number by another. It comes from the Italian "Quoziente".
Irrational Numbers
Any real number that is not a Rational Number. Read More ->
Algebraic Numbers
Any number that is a solution to a polynomial equation with rational coefficients.
Includes all Rational Numbers, and some Irrational Numbers. Read More ->
Transcendental Numbers
Any number that is not an Algebraic Number
Examples of transcendental numbers include π and e. Read More ->
Real Numbers
Any value on the number line:
π 20
- 15 -2.5 - "origin"
4 2 √2 9 e π
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4
1
Can be positive, negative or zero.
Can be Rational or Irrational.
Can be Algebraic or Transcendental.
1
Can have infinite digits, such as = 0.333...
3
Also see Real Number Properties
They are called "Real" numbers because they are not Imaginary Numbers.
Read More ->
Imaginary Numbers
Numbers that when squared give a negative result.
If you square a real number you always get a positive, or zero, result. For example
2×2=4, and (-2)×(-2)=4 also, so "imaginary" numbers can seem impossible, but
they are still useful!
Examples: √(-9) (=3i), 6i, -5.2i
The "unit" imaginary numbers is √(-1) (the square root of minus one), and its
symbol is i, or sometimes j.
i2 = -1
Read More ->
Complex Numbers
A combination of a real and an imaginary number in the form a + bi, where a and
b are real, and i is imaginary.
The values a and b can be zero, so the set of real numbers and the set of
imaginary numbers are subsets of the set of complex numbers.
Examples: 1 + i, 2 - 6i, -5.2i, 4
Read More ->
Be Rational!
Get Real!
Illustration
Natural numbers are a subset of Integers
Integers are a subset of Rational Numbers
Rational Numbers are a subset of the Real Numbers
Rational Integer
Real Natural
Combinations of Real and Imaginary numbers make up
the Complex Numbers.
Complex
Imaginary
Number Sets In Use
Here are some algebraic equations, and the number set needed to solve them:
Equation Solution Number Set Symbol
x−3=0 x=3 Natural Numbers
x+7=0 x = −7 Integers
4x − 1 = 0 x=¼ Rational Numbers
x2 − 2 = 0 x = ±√2 Real Numbers
x2 + 1 = 0 x = ±√(−1) Complex Numbers
Other Sets
We can take an existing set symbol and place in the top right corner:
a little + to mean positive, or
a little * to mean non zero, like this:
+ Set of positive integers {1, 2, 3, ...}
* Set of nonzero integers {..., -3, -2, -1, 1, 2, 3, ...}
etc
And we can always use set-builder notation .
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