REAL

NUMBERS
If you were asked to count, the numbers you’d
say are called counting numbers. These
numbers can be expressed using set notation.

{1, 2, 3, 4, . . . } These are also called

the natural numbers.

If we include 0 we have
the set of whole numbers. {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . }

{ …, -3, -2, -1, 0,1, 2, 3, . . . }

Include the opposites of the whole numbers and

you have the set of integers.
 Whole numbers are a subset of integers and
counting numbers are a subset of whole
numbers.
rational numbers

integers

whole numbers
counting This means to
numbers divide one integer
by another or
“make a fraction”

If we express a new set of numbers as the quotient of

two integers, we have the set of rational numbers
There are numbers that cannot be expressed as
the quotient of two integers. These are called
irrational numbers.
REAL NUMBERS

rational numbers

integers

irrational
whole numbers
numbers
counting
numbers
2

The rational numbers combined with the irrational

numbers make up the set of real numbers.
 Translating English to Maths
sum of two numbers a+b
difference between two numbers a-b
The product of two numbers ab
the quotient of two numbers a
b
is =
 ORDER OF OPERATIONS

When there is more than one symbol of operation in an

expression, it is agreed to complete the operations in a certain
order. A mnemonic to help you remember this order is below.
Complete
Apply Indices
Complete multiplication
addition and and divisionfrom
subtraction fromleft
lefttotoright
right
Do any simplifying possible inside of brackets
starting with innermost brackets and working out

BIMDAS
 complete
complete
indices –addition
brackets andindice
– combine
multiplication
apply the subtraction,
these first left
and division,
now lefttotoright
right

2223842510
22
 
6342  4
33 22 
 4
4

23  5  3  2  4
2

BIMDAS
BIMDAS
 COMMUTATIVE PROPERTY
The operations of both addition and multiplication are commutative

ab ba 3 2  2  3
When adding, you can “commute” or trade the terms places

ab  b a 3 2  2  3
When multiplying, you can “commute” or trade the factors places
 ASSOCIATIVE PROPERTY
The operations of both addition and multiplication are associative

a  b  c  a  b  c
1  2  3  1  2  3
When adding, you can “associate” and add any terms first and
then add the other term.

a  b c  a  b  c
2  3 4  2  3 4
When multiplying, you can “associate” and multiply any factors
first and then multiply the other factor.
 DISTRIBUTIVE PROPERTY
The operation of multiplication distributes over addition

ab  c  ab  ac
32  4  3 2  3 4
The distributive property also holds for a factor that is multiplied
on the left.

b  ca  b  a  c  a
3  42  3 2  4  2
CAUTION: Remember that the value for a
and/or b could also be positive or negative.

a b  ab  ab  ab

A positive A negative
times a NEGATIVE times a NEGATIVE
negative is positive is

  a   a a a a
  
The negative
POSITIVE b b b
of a negative A negative NEGATIVE
A positive
divided by a divided by a
a a negative or positive is
 A negative

b b
divided by a
negative is POSITIVE
Acknowledgement

I wish to thank Shawna Haider from Salt Lake Community College, Utah
USA for her hard work in creating this PowerPoint.

www.slcc.edu

Shawna has kindly given permission for this resource to be downloaded

from www.mathxtc.com and for it to be modified to suit the Western
Australian Mathematics Curriculum.

Stephen Corcoran
Head of Mathematics
St Stephen’s School – Carramar
www.ststephens.wa.edu.au