Construct an argument that shows that the set of rational numbers is closed under division. That is, if x and y are
rational numbers (with y nonzero) and ???? = x / y' prove that ???? must also be a rational number.

Respuesta :

Answer:

[tex]\frac{x}{y}[/tex] can also be expressed as a ratio of two integers.

Step-by-step explanation:

Assume x and y are rational number, then x and y can be written as:

[tex]x=\frac{a}{b}[/tex], where a and b are integers and b≠0

[tex]y=\frac{c}{d}[/tex], where c and d are integers and d≠0

Then,

[tex]\frac{x}{y}[/tex] = [tex]\frac{\frac{a}{b} }{\frac{c}{d} }[/tex]

= [tex]\frac{a*d}{b*c}[/tex]  

Since the set of integers are closed under multiplication, a*d is also an integer. Similarly b*c is also an integer.

[tex]\frac{x}{y}[/tex] can be expressed as a proportion of two integers, provided that y≠0. From this we can conclude that [tex]\frac{x}{y}[/tex]  is a rational number, which concludes that the set of rational numbers are closed under division.

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