Answer
The natural numbers are the positive counting numbers excluding zero. We can use them in everyday situations to count, add, and subtract. For instance counting how many cookies are in a jar.
The integers are all the counting numbers (including zero and the negative numbers). Since they include the negative numbers they apply to real life in situations involving weight loss or gain, temperature rise or fall, and debt (which is a negative form of money).
The rational numbers are numbers that can be expressed as a fraction of two integers. Real life applications involve things like date and distance. For instance on Wednesday is the fourth day of the week thus it is 4/7th of a week. Or if we walk half two out of four blocks, we can say that we walked halfway i.e 1/2.
The irrational numbers cannot be expressed as a fraction of two integers. Real world applications of irrational numbers involve taking measurements. For instance a piece of wood might be $\sqrt 20$ inches long, a length that cannot be expressed as a simple fraction.
Work Step by Step
Steps to structuring the paragraph:
1. Define the natural numbers
2. Give examples of real-world applications of natural numbers.
3. Define the integers
4. Give examples of real-world applications of integers.
5. Define the rational numbers
6. Give examples of real-world applications of rational numbers.
7. Define the irrational numbers
8. Give examples of real-world applications of the irrational numbers.
