Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The Mathimatical Mystery of Rational Numbers- Prime Suspect: Zero, Inspector: Laura K. Turner

Good evening fellow classmates. My name is Laura Turner and I am here to solve this mathematical mystery.

My challenge was to determine whether or not zero is in fact a rational number. After some hard thinking and research through our previous notes I have deduced that yes, zero does fall under the category of rational numbers. My reasoning is as follows:

Before beginning my investigation, I went through the mental knowledge I had of what rational numbers are and how they can be identified. I knew from previous math sessions with Mr. Backe that, in order for a number to be rational it must be able to be written as a fraction, where the denominator does not equal zero. After some time with my calculator I came to the realization that this is because anything divided by zero comes up as an error. AKA: UNDEFINED. However, thinking outside the box I experimented with various angles of the situation, including using zero as the numerator. After some more time with my calculator I was informed that zero divided by anything equals zero. This is the climax of the investigation.

Since determining that zero divided by any given number equals zero, I have come to the conclusion that zero is a rational number because it can be expressed as a fraction, and the denominator does not equal zero. Here is your evidence:

0/2 = 0

0/ 5= 0

0/ 123 456 789 = 0

As you can see, the theory works and can be tested on any number. Please feel free to investigate further at your own will. However, ladies and gentlemen I think that this case has been cracked. Thank you for your time.

-Detective Inspector Laura K. Turner

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