In this chapter, we look beyond the whole numbers at other numbers that are included in school mathematics in grades pre-K to 8, particularly in the upper grades. We first look at the rational numbers ...

A rational number can be written exactly in the form \(\frac{a}{b}\), where 𝑎 and 𝑏 are integers, while an irrational number cannot.

When my students grow too dependent on their calculators, I ask them to find a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives them 2. Students quickly see that since 1² = 1 and 2² = 4, the answer has ...

To many people, school mathematics is virtually a phenomenon of nature. It seems timeless, set in stone—ard to change and perhaps not needing to change. But the school mathematics education of ...