When you go to the store and see a sign that advertises 50% off, how do you most easily figure your cost?
What is the difference between the fractions 1/3 and 1/4 ( not the difference in value which is, of course, 1/12), but the difference is concept? Yes, the decimal expansion of 1/4 terminates, but the decimal expansion of 1/3 repeats forever...and that is of critical importance in understanding the real number system. This property characterizes rational numbers (fractions) by comparison to numbers like √2 and π the decimal expansion of which never terminates and never repeats!
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