Solved on Dec 14, 2023
Determine if is rational or irrational. The pattern of digits repeating indefinitely indicates the number is rational.
STEP 1
Assumptions
1. The given number is
2. A number is rational if it can be expressed as a fraction , where and are integers and .
3. A number is irrational if it cannot be expressed as a fraction of two integers.
4. A repeating decimal is a rational number.
STEP 2
Identify the pattern in the decimal part of the number.
The given number has a pattern where the number of 9s after the digit 3 increases by one each time: 39, 399, 3999, etc.
STEP 3
Express the number as a sum of its individual parts to see if it can be written as a repeating decimal.
The number can be expressed as:
STEP 4
Recognize that this is a geometric series where the first term is and the common ratio is .
STEP 5
Use the formula for the sum of an infinite geometric series, which is , where is the first term and is the common ratio.
STEP 6
Check if the common ratio is between and (excluding and ), because only then the infinite geometric series will converge to a sum.
Since , we have , so the series converges.
STEP 7
Calculate the sum of the infinite geometric series using the formula.
STEP 8
Substitute the values of and into the formula.
STEP 9
Simplify the denominator.
STEP 10
Calculate the sum .
STEP 11
Simplify the fraction by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by .
STEP 12
Perform the division.
STEP 13
Now, add the initial (which is ) to the sum .
STEP 14
Find a common denominator for the two fractions.
The common denominator is .
STEP 15
Express both fractions with the common denominator.
STEP 16
Perform the multiplication.
STEP 17
Add the two fractions.
STEP 18
Simplify the sum.
STEP 19
Since we have expressed the original number as a fraction of two integers, the number is rational.
The number is rational because it can be expressed as the fraction .
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