6th Grade Math Textbook, Progress

Rational Numbers

6-16

A class is learning about the stock market.

The table shows how the stocks performed in

a one-week period. It shows how much the

value of a stock rose (
) or fell () that week.

A share of Earl’s Software rose 
 1 

1

2 points. A

share of Ultimate Graphics fell 2 points.

You can use a number line to represent all of

the positive and negative numbers.

The numbers  3 

1

4 ,

2, ^3

4 ,

^18 , 
1, 
 1 ^12 , and 
2 are rational numbers.

0 is also a rational number.

A rational number is a number that can be written in the form

of a fraction ab, where aand bare integers and b≠0.

You can write any rational number as a

decimal. Compare the number line above

with the one below.

Notice that  3 

1

4 

3.25, ^3

4 

0.75, 
^1

8 


0.125, and 
 1 ^1

2 


1.5.

Every rational number has an opposite.

The opposite of 
 2 

1

2 is

 2 ^1

2 . The opposite of



^34 is

^34 .

The opposite of 
3.5 is 3.5. The opposite of 0.2 is 
0.2.

 4

 3 
 2 
   1  1  2

 3 
 2 
 1 0  1  2

1

4

3

4

1

8

1

2

 4

3.25 
 2 
0.75 0.125  1 1.5  2

 3 
 2 
 10  1  2

Earl’s Software 
^1 

1

2 

Ultimate Graphics  2

Pelican Steel  3 ^14 

BAC Stores 
 2

Clark Electronics ^34 

Mike’s Bikes 
 1

Ellen Stores 
^18 

Whole Numbers

Integers

Rational Numbers

Think

All whole numbers are integers.

All integers are rational numbers.

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