Questions tagged [decimal-expansion]

For questions about decimal expansion, both practical and theoretical.

A number can be represented in many different ways, but the most common is via its decimal expansion. Such a representation takes the form

$$a_na_{n-1}\dots a_1a_0.a_{-1}a_{-2}\dots$$

where $a_n \in \{1, 2, \dots, 9\}$ and $a_i \in \{0, 1, 2, \dots, 9\}$ for $i = n - 1, n - 2, \dots, 1, 0, -1, -2, \dots$. In the case that there is $N > 0$ such that $a_i = 0$ for all $i < -N$, these numbers are supressed in which case the decimal expansion usually appears as

$$a_na_{n-1}\dots a_1a_0.a_{-1}a_{-2}\dots a_{-N}.$$

Note that concatenation does not represent multiplication, it is just a part of the notation. The . between $a_0$ and $a_{-1}$ does not represent multiplication either; it is sometimes called the decimal point.

To put the notation on a rigorous footing, the expression $a_na_{n-1}\dots a_1a_0.a_{-1}a_{-2}\dots$ is shorthand for

$$\sum_{i = 0}^na_i10^i + \sum_{i=1}^{\infty}a_{-i}\frac{1}{10^i} = \sum_{i = -\infty}^na_i10^i$$

which can be shown to be convergent irrespective of the choice of $a_i$.

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Is the number $0.112358132134...$ rational or irrational?

Just out of curiosity, is the number $0.112358132134...$ a rational or irrational number? $...$ stands for Fibonacci sequence not repeating decimals!
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Recurring decimal expansion of $\frac17$

The decimal expansion of $\frac17$ seems to have an interesting pattern: $$ \frac{1}{7} = 0.142857142857142857...$$ Take the first two digits of the expansion: $14 = 2^1*7$ Then the next two: $28 = 2^2*7$ The pattern seems to halt abruptly with the…
Art
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Characterization of non-unique decimal expansions

In proofs exhibiting bijections of $\mathbb{R}$ for the sake of proving arguments about cardinality, care is generally taken to avoid the $.999\!\ldots=1.00\!\ldots$ problem. However, it is generally accepted without comment that this is the only…
Eric Stucky
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Is a decimal with a predictable pattern a rational number?

I'm starting as a private Math tutor for a high school kid; in one of his Math Laboratories (that came with an answer sheet) I was stumped by an answer I encountered in the True or False section (I'm certain it should've been a False): The number…
rolandog
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Why do divisions like 1/98 and 1/998 give us numbers continuously being multiplied by two each time in decimal form?

For example, when I divided $1$ by $98$, I got an amazing result of $0.0102040816326530612244897...$ where so many numbers get multiplied by two every time in the right pattern with some carrying. Also, when I divided $1$ by $998$, I got an amazing…
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Power of 2 with equal number of decimal digits?

Does there exist an integer $n$ such that the decimal representation of $2^n$ have an equal number of decimal digits $\{0,\dots,9\}$, each appearing 10% of the time? The closest I could find was $n=1,287,579$ of which $2^n$ has 387,600 digits broken…
sheppa28
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Maximum length of repeating digits in a decimal

Total math novice here. I'm wondering if (as I think should be the case) there is no maximum length of a repeating decimal period, for example: - 0.33333... (period 1) - 0.252525... (period 2) - 0.142857142857... (period 6) - etc. The reason I am…
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$100th$ digit after decimal point in $\sqrt 2$

I want to find the $100th$ digit after decimal in $\sqrt 2$. $\sqrt 2 = 1.41421356237...$ for example $7th$ digit after decimal is $5$. Is there any general method for such problems? I thought it might use the representation of real numbers as a…
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Digits difference of numbers between 10 and 99

I was asked the question, how many numbers between 10 and 99 have digits that differ EXACTLY by 3? I didn't understand the question, I thought it meant numbers like 11,44,77 then 22,55,88 and 33,66,99 but I was wrong. What does the question mean?
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$\displaystyle \frac{6}{2n-1} - \frac{1}{n} = \frac{p}{2^i5^j}$

$\displaystyle \frac{6}{2n-1} - \frac{1}{n} = \frac{p}{2^i5^j}$ For which $n$ is this expression true. $n$ and $p$ are integers. $i$ and $j$ are positive integers or zero.
Huin Li
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About the sum of the first half and the latter half of the cyclic numbers of a repeating decimal

Let us call the sum of the first half and the latter half of the cyclic numbers of an irreducible fraction 'a division sum' when the period of a repeating decimal is even. Also, let $\lambda(l)$ be the length of the repeating digits of $\frac 1l$ in…
mathlove
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Cont'd Decimal Expansion, rational or not?

This is a follow up from this question. Since it's proven by Calvin Lin that $0.11235813213455...$ (Fibonacci Sequence), I'm not wondering if the sequence $$0.123456789101112131415...$$ (which is just natural numbers) is rational or not. Thanks for…
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Given any two normal numbers, can we always find a find a truncation point at which the digits can be rearranged from one to the other?

I just watched a video showing that you can re-arrange (or permute as it is called in the video) the first nine decimal digits of the reciprocal of pi, to give the first nine decimal digits of the reciprocal of phi (the golden ratio). That is to…
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How to show that there are no decimal representations of $1$ other than $1.000\dots$ and $0.999\dots$?

I know that $1.000\dots$ and $0.999\dots$ are two different decimal representations of $1$, but how can I prove that they are unique? I mean, there is no other decimal representation $a_n\dots a_0. a_{-1}a_{-2}\dots$ of $1$, different from…
Jorge S.
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0.0204081632... as a repeating fraction

I calculated $\left(\frac17\right)^2$ and the calculation returned a decimal where a series of numbers going up by an exponent of 2 were all concatenated together at the end of the decimal. the number looked like this: 0.02040816326530612... It…
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