Real numbers are numbers that can be expressed as decimals that go on forever.

Real numbers can be

expressed geometrically as points on a number line called the real line ℝ.

Properties of Real numbers

The properties of real numbers fall into 3 categories, algebraic properties, order properties and
completeness. The algebraic properties say that real numbers can be added subtracted multiplied and
divided except by 0 to produce more real numbers under the rules of arithmetic.

Completeness

There are enough real numbers to complete the number line there are no holes or gaps in it.

Subsets of ℝ

Natural numbers

Integers

Rational numbers- numbers that can be expressed in the form of m/n where m and n are integers. The
rational numbers are precisely those with decimal expansions that are either

a) Terminating (ending in an infinite string of zeros)

b) Repeating (consist of a block of digits that repeat)

Irrational numbers

Intervals

A subset of the real line, it contains at least two numbers and all the numbers lying between any two of
its elements. Geometrically intervals correspond to line segments or rays along with the real line itself.

Intervals corresponding to line segments are called finite intervals. Intervals corresponding to rays and
the real line are called infinite intervals.

A finite interval is said to be closed if it contains both endpoints, half-open if it contains one end-point
but not the other and open if it contains neither. The endpoints are called boundary points and the
remaining points are called interior points.

Solving an Inequality means finding an interval that satisfies an inequality.

Absolute value of x is denoted by |x| and is defined as

 |x|=x x>0

-x x<0

Since the symbol (a)^1/2 always denotes the non-negative square root of an alternate definition of  |x|
is

 |x|=(a2)1/2
Geometrically, |x| means the distance from x to the origin. Generally |x-y | the distance between x and
y.

Absolute value properties

Inequalities involving absolute values

Coordinates, Lines, and increments

The position of all points in the plane can be measured w.r.t to two perpendicular real lines intersecting
at the 0 point. These lines are called coordinate axes in the plane. On the horizontal axis, numbers are
denoted by x and increase to the right. On the vertical axis, numbers are denoted by and increase
upward. If P is any point in the plane, draw two lines through P perpendicular to the two coordinate
axes. If the line meets the x-axis at a and the y-axis at b then a is the x-coordinate of P and b is the y-
coordinate of P. The ordered pair (a,b) is the points coordinate pair. The origin divides the x-axis to the
positive axis to the right and the negative axis to the left. It divides the y-axis into the positive y-axis
upward and the negative axis downward. The axes divide the plane into four quadrants.

Definition

An increment in a variable is a net change in that variable. If x changes from x1 to x2 the increment in x
is

x2-x1= Δx

The distance between two points in the plane is calculated by Pythagoras theorem.

Straight lines

Given two points in the plane we call the increments in x and y the run and rise respectively. Two such
points always determine uniquely a line that passes through both of them.

Any non-vertical line has the property that

Y2-y1/x2-x1=m is constant for any choice of two points on the line.

The slope tells us about the direction (uphill downhill) and steepness of a line. A positive slope indicates
that the line rises uphill to the right. A negative slope indicates that it declines downhill to the right. The
greater the absolute value of the slope the steeper the line. The slope of a vertical line is undefined.

The direction and steepness of a line can also be measured with angle. The angle of inclination of a line
that crosses the x-axis is the smallest counterclockwise angle from the x-axix to the line. The inclination
of a horizontal line is 0 and 90 for a vertical line

m=tanθ

Lines that are parallel have equal angles of inclination. Hence, they have the same slope (if they are not
vertical). Conversely, lines with equal slopes have equal angles of inclination and thus are parallel

If two non-vertical lines are perpendicular their slopes m1 and m2 satisfy m1m2=-1
Equations of lines

All points on a vertical line passing through the x-axis at a have x-coordinate equal to a. Thus x=a is the
equation for the vertical line. Similarly, y=b is an equation for the horizontal line meeting the y-axis at b.

Equation for a non-vertical line if we know its slope and the coordinates of a point

Y=y1+m(x-x1)

Y=mx+b slope-intercept form

AX+BY+C= 0 is called the general linear equation in x and y because it represents a line and every line
has an equation including lines with an undefined slope.