Axioms for the Real Numbers

Field Axioms: there exist notions of addition and multiplication, and additive and
multiplicative
identities and inverses, so that:
(P1) (Associative law for addition): a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c
(P2) (Existence of additive identity): 9 0 : a + 0 = 0 + a = a
(P3) (Existence of additive inverse): a + (a) = (a) + a = 0
(P4) (Commutative law for addition): a + b = b + a
(P5) (Associative law for multiplication): a (b c) = (a b) c
(P6) (Existence of multiplicative identity): 9 1 6= 0 : a 1 = 1 a = a
(P7) (Existence of multiplicative inverse): a a1 = a1 a = 1 for a 6= 0
(P8) (Commutative law for multiplication): a b = b a
(P9) (Distributive law): a (b + c) = a b + a c
Order Axioms: there exists a subset of positive numbers P such that
(P10) (Trichotomy): exclusively either a 2 P or a 2 P or a = 0.
(P11) (Closure under addition): a, b 2 P ) a + b 2 P
(P12) (Closure under multiplication): a, b 2 P ) a b 2 P
Completeness Axiom: a least upper bound of a set A is a number x such that x _ y for all
y 2 A, and such that if z is also an upper bound for A, then necessarily z _ x.
(P13) (Existence of least upper bounds): Every nonempty set A of real numbers which is
bounded above has a least upper bound.
We will call properties (P1)(P12), and anything that follows from them, elementary
arithmetic. These properties imply, for example, that the real numbers contain the rational
numbers as a subfield, and basic properties about the behavior of > and < under
multiplication and addition.
Adding property (P13) uniquely determines the real numbers. The standard way of proving
this is to identify each x 2 R with the subset of rational numbers y 2 Q such that y _ x,
referred to as a Dedekind cut. This procedure can also be used to construct the real numbers
from the rationals.
1

PROPERTIES OF REAL NUMBERS

In this lesson we look at some properties that apply to all real numbers. If you learn these
properties, they will help you solve problems in algebra. Let's look at each property in detail,
and apply it to an algebraic expression.
#1. Commutative properties
The commutative property of addition says that we can add numbers in any order. The
commutative property of multiplication is very similar. It says that we can multiply numbers
in any order we want without changing the result.
addition
5a + 4 = 4 + 5a
multiplication
3 x 8 x 5b = 5b x 3 x 8
#2. Associative properties
Both addition and multiplication can actually be done with two numbers at a time. So if
there are more numbers in the expression, how do we decide which two to "associate"
first? The associative property of addition tells us that we can group numbers in a sum in
any way we want and still get the same answer. The associative property of multiplication
tells us that we can group numbers in a product in any way we want and still get the same
answer.
addition
(4x + 2x) + 7x = 4x + (2x + 7x)
multiplication
2x2(3y) = 3y(2x2)
#3. Distributive property
The distributive property comes into play when an expression involves both addition and
multiplication. A longer name for it is, "the distributive property of multiplication over
addition." It tells us that if a term is multiplied by terms in parenthesis, we need to
"distribute" the multiplication over all the terms inside.
2x(5 + y) = 10x + 2xy
Even though order of operations says that you must add the terms inside the parenthesis first, the distributive
property allows you to simplify the expression by multiplying every term inside the parenthesis by the multiplier.
This simplifies the expression.
#4. Density property
The density property tells us that we can always find another real number that lies between
any two real numbers. For example, between 5.61 and 5.62, there is 5.611, 5.612, 5.613
and so forth.
Between 5.612 and 5.613, there is 5.6121, 5.6122 ... and an endless list of other numbers!

#5. Identity property

The identity property for addition tells us that zero added to any number is the number
itself. Zero is called the "additive identity." The identity property for multiplication tells us
that the number 1 multiplied times any number gives the number itself. The number 1 is
called the "multiplicative identity."
Addition
5y + 0 = 5y
Multiplication
2c 1 = 2c
back to top

Are these statements true or false?

Subtraction is associative.
In dividing or subtracting three real
numbers, the order doesn't matter.
x + (y + z) = (x + y) + z.

True False Feedback

2(x + y) = 2x + 2y .
There are no numbers between 1 and 2.

PROPERTIES OF REAL NUMBERS

The following table lists the defining properties of the real numbers (technically called the field
axioms). These laws define how the things we call numbers should behave.

Addition

Multiplication

Commutative

Commutative

For all real a, b

For all real a, b

a+b=b+a

ab = ba

Associative

Associative

For all real a, b, c

For all real a, b, c

a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c

(ab)c = a(bc)

Identity

Identity

There exists a real number 0

such that for every real a

There exists a real number 1

such that for every real a

a+0=a

a1=a

Additive Inverse
(Opposite)
For every real number a there
exist a real number, denoted
(a), such that

Multiplicative Inverse
(Reciprocal)
For every real number a
except 0 there exist a real
number, denoted

, such that

a + (a) = 0
a

=1

Distributive Law
For all real a, b, c
a(b + c) = ab + ac, and (a + b)c = ac + bc
The commutative and associative laws do not hold for subtraction or division:
a b is not equal to b a
a b is not equal to b a
a (b c) is not equal to (a b) c
a (b c) is not equal to (a b) c
Try some examples with numbers and you will see that they do not work.
What these laws mean is that order and grouping don't matter for addition and multiplication, but
they certainly do matter for subtraction and division. In this way, addition and multiplication are
cleaner than subtraction and division. This will become important when we start talking about
algebraic expressions. Often what we will want to do with an algebraic expression will involve
rearranging it somehow. If the operations are all addition and multiplication, we don't have to
worry so much that we might be changing the value of an expression by rearranging its terms or
factors. Fortunately, we can always think of subtraction as an addition problem (adding the
opposite), and we can always think of division as a multiplication (multiplying by the
reciprocal).
You may have noticed that the commutative and associative laws read exactly the same way for
addition and multiplication, as if there was no difference between them other than notation. The
law that makes them behave differently is the distributive law, because multiplication distributes
over addition, not vice-versa.. The distributive law is extremely important, and it is impossible to
understand algebra without being thoroughly familiar with this law.
Example: 2(3 + 4)
According to the order of operations rules, we should evaluate this expression by first doing the
addition inside the parentheses, giving us
2(3 + 4) = 2(7) = 14

But we can also look at this problem with the distributive law, and of course still get the same
answer. The distributive law says that

Basic Algebraic Properties of Real Numbers

The numbers used to measure real-world quantities such as length, area, volume, speed, electrical charges,
probability of rain, room temperature, gross national products, growth rates, and so forth, are called real
numbers. They include such number as
,
,
, ,
,
,
,
and .
The basic algebraic properties of the real numbers can be expressed in terms of the two fundamental
operations of addition and multiplication.

Basic Algebraic Properties:

Let

and

denotes real numbers.

(1) The Commutative Properties

(a)
(b)
The commutative properties says that the order in which we either add or multiplication real number doesnt
matter.
(2) The Associative Properties
(a)
(b)
The associative properties tells us that the way real numbers are grouped when they are either added or
multiplied doesnt matter. Because of the associative properties, expressions such as
makes sense without parentheses.
(3) The Distributive Properties
(a)
(b)
The distributive properties can be used to expand a product into a sum, such as
or the other way around, to rewrite a sum as product:

(4) The Identity Properties

(a)

(b)

and

We call

the additive identity and

(5) The Inverse Properties

(a) For each real number

the multiplicative identity for the real numbers.

, there is real number

, called the additive inverse of

, such

that
(b) For each real number
of , such that
Although the additive inverse of
because

, there is a real number

, namely

, is usually called the negative of

isnt necessarily a negative number. For instance, if

that the multiplicative inverse

reciprocal of

is assumed to exist if

and is often written as

, called the multiplicative inverse

, you must be careful

, then

. The real number

. Notice
is also called the

Example:
State one basic algebraic property of the real numbers to justify each statement:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g) If
, then
Solution:
(a) Commutative Property for addition
(b) Associative Property for addition
(c) Commutative Property for multiplication
(d) Distributive Property
(e) Additive Inverse Property
(f) Multiplicative Identity Property
(g) Multiplicative Inverse Property
Many of the important properties of the real numbers can be derived as results of the basic properties,
although we shall not do so here. Among the more important derived properties are the following.

(6) The Cancellation Properties:

(a) If
(b) If

then,
and

, then

(7) The Zero-Factor Properties:

(a)
(b) If

, then

or

(or both)

(8) Properties of Negation:

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Subtraction and Division:
Let

and

be real numbers,

(a) The difference

is defined by

(b) The quotient or ratio

or

is defined only if

. If

, then by definition

It may be noted that Division by zero is not allowed.

When

is written in the form

, it is called a fraction with numerator

and denominator

. Although the denominator cant be zero, theres nothing wrong with having a zero in the numerator. In
fact, if

,
(9) The Negative of a Fraction:
If

, then