Question

What rational number is not a whole number?

Answer 1

A rational number is any number that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction \( \frac{p}{q} \) of two integers, where \( p \) is the numerator, \( q \) is the denominator (and \( q \neq 0 \)). A rational number that is not a whole number could be something like \( \frac{1}{2} \), \( -\frac{3}{4} \), or \( \frac{5}{2} \).

For example, \( \frac{1}{2} \) is a rational number because it can be expressed as the fraction of two integers (1 and 2), but it is not a whole number since whole numbers are non-negative integers (0, 1, 2, 3, ...).