Section 1.3: Fractions and Decimals
Essential Ideas

• Fraction - A fraction is a number that is the quotient of a whole number divided by a counting number. A fraction is usually written as a:
  

• A fraction is called:
  1. A proper fraction if the numerator is less than the denominator.
  2. An improper fraction if the numerator is greater than the denominator.
  3. A whole number if the denominator divides evenly into the numerator. That is, with remainder 0.
  A common fraction is one written as a number divided by a non-zero number, such as 4/5, whereas a decimal fraction is one written as using a decimal point, such as 0.8. The definition of division 10/5 = 2 means that 5x2 = 10, so if we have 10/0, this means that the answer we seek must be 10 when multiplied by 0. Since zero times any number is 0, we see that it is impossible to obtain the answer 10. Consequently, we say division by zero is impossible. If you don't know the place value names (up to trillions), then you should learn those names.