Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A repeating decimal or recurring decimal is a decimal representation of a number whose digits are eventually periodic (that is, after some place, the same sequence of digits is repeated forever); if this sequence consists only of zeros (that is if there is only a finite number of nonzero digits), the decimal is said to be terminating, and is not considered as repeating.
In 1802, H. Goodwyn published an observation on the appearance of 9s in the repeating-decimal representations of fractions whose denominators are certain prime numbers. [46] Examples include: = 0. 142857 and 142 + 857 = 999. = 0. 01369863 and 0136 + 9863 = 9999.
Let x = the repeating decimal: x = 0.1523 987; Multiply both sides by the power of 10 just great enough (in this case 10 4) to move the decimal point just before the repeating part of the decimal number: 10,000x = 1,523. 987; Multiply both sides by the power of 10 (in this case 10 3) that is the same as the number of places that repeat:
Cyclic numbers are related to the recurring digital representations of unit fractions. A cyclic number of length L is the digital representation of 1/(L + 1). Conversely, if the digital period of 1/p (where p is prime) is p − 1, then the digits represent a cyclic number. For example: 1/7 = 0.142857 142857...
where the repeating block is indicated by dots over its first and last terms. [2] If the initial non-repeating block is not present – that is, if k = -1, a 0 = a m and = [;,, …, ¯], the regular continued fraction x is said to be purely periodic.
Another meaning for generalized continued fraction is a generalization to higher dimensions. For example, there is a close relationship between the simple continued fraction in canonical form for the irrational real number α, and the way lattice points in two dimensions lie to either side of the line y = αx. Generalizing this idea, one might ...
In mathematics, Midy's theorem, named after French mathematician E. Midy, [1] is a statement about the decimal expansion of fractions a/p where p is a prime and a/p has a repeating decimal expansion with an even period (sequence A028416 in the OEIS). If the period of the decimal representation of a/p is 2n, so that
Also the converse is true: The decimal expansion of a rational number is either finite, or endlessly repeating. Finite decimal representations can also be seen as a special case of infinite repeating decimal representations. For example, 36 ⁄ 25 = 1.44 = 1.4400000...; the endlessly repeated sequence is the one-digit sequence "0".