fractionslika

Fractionslika is a term encountered in some Scandinavian-language educational materials to denote the set of rational numbers. These are numbers that can be expressed as a fraction a/b, where a and b are integers and b is nonzero. Every fractionslika has many equivalent representations, since a/b = (ka)/(kb) for any nonzero integer k.

In formal terms, a fractionslika is any element of the form a/b with integers a and b and b ≠ 0. A fraction is said to be in lowest terms when gcd(a, b) = 1, meaning the numerator and denominator share no common positive divisor other than 1. Fractions can be written as proper fractions (|a| < |b|), improper fractions (|a| ≥ |b|), or mixed numbers.

Decimal representations of fractionslika either terminate or repeat periodically. A fraction a/b has a terminating decimal expansion if, after reducing the fraction, the denominator b has only the prime factors 2 and 5. Otherwise, the decimal expansion repeats with a fixed period.

Fractionslika are closed under addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division by nonzero fractions, with arithmetic typically performed by bringing fractions to a common denominator or by reducing to lowest terms. They also form a dense subset of the real numbers, meaning between any two real numbers there exists a fractionslika.

Examples include 3/4, -5/2, and 6 (which equals 6/1). Fractionslika are distinct from irrational numbers, which cannot be expressed as a ratio of integers.