are negative numbers rational?

Yes, negative numbers are considered rational numbers. Rational numbers are numbers that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction of two integers, where the denominator is non-zero.

To understand why negative numbers are rational, let's define a negative rational number as -p/q, where p and q are integers and q is not equal to zero. This means that -p/q can be written as the ratio of two integers, just like any other rational number.

For example, -3 can be written as -3/1, where -3 is the numerator and 1 is the denominator. Similarly, -5/2 is a negative rational number since -5 and 2 are both integers, and 2 is not equal to zero.

Essentially, any negative number can be expressed as a fraction with a negative numerator and a positive denominator, making it a rational number.