Is - 3 a rational, irrational, natural, whole, integer or real number?

To determine the classification of the number -3, we will analyze it step by step under different categories of numbers.

Natural Numbers:
Natural numbers are positive counting numbers starting from 1, such as 1, 2, 3, etc.
Since -3 is negative, it is not a natural number.

Whole Numbers:
Whole numbers include all natural numbers and 0. The set of whole numbers is {0, 1, 2, 3, ...}.
Since -3 is not positive and does not include 0, it is not a whole number.

Integers:
Integers include all positive and negative whole numbers, as well as 0. The set of integers is {…, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, …}.
Since -3 is a negative whole number, it is an integer.

Rational Numbers:
A rational number is any number that can be expressed as a fraction p/q, where p and q are integers, and q ≠ 0.
-3 can be written as -3/1, which is a fraction with integer numerator (-3) and denominator (1).
Therefore, -3 is a rational number.

Irrational Numbers:
Irrational numbers are numbers that cannot be expressed as a simple fraction (e.g., √2, π).
Since -3 can be expressed as -3/1, it is not irrational.
Therefore, -3 is not an irrational number.

Real Numbers:
Real numbers include all rational and irrational numbers. Since -3 is a rational number, it is also a real number.
Therefore, -3 is a real number.

Final Classification of -3:
Not a natural number
Not a whole number
Is an integer
Is a rational number
Not an irrational number
Is a real number