D. Exact and Approximate Values

Radicals represent a special branch of mathematics and have certain characteristics that must be examined and understood.

Recall that some radicals are Rational Numbers. They may also be Natural Numbers, Whole Numbers, or Integers.

Example 1

The number 5 is considered to be a Natural Number, a Whole Number, an Integer, and a Rational Number. As such, is also a Natural Number, a Whole Number, an Integer, and a Rational Number.

Example 2

The trail of dots after this particular decimal number indicates that the decimal
values will go on forever and will never fall into a pattern or repeat. As such,
is Irrational.

The expression is considered to be an exact value .

The decimal equivalent of will not terminate. At some point, it is best to round the decimal number to an approximate value.

This means the rounded number is not an exact value. It is considered to be
an approximation. A symbol that represents approximately equal to is the which is an equal sign with a dot above it.

It is acceptable to round to one or two decimal places for most practical applications.