The smallest number
There is no biggest number. But is there a smallest number?
Well, the number one is the smallest of the numbers that we count
with. But it isn’t really the smallest of all numbers.
You see, the number one can be divided, or broken, into smaller numbers
called fractions. You can break the number one into two parts, called
halves. You can break it into three parts, called thirds. You can break
it into fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, eighths, ninths, tenths, and
so on. You can break it into a hundred parts, called hundredths. You can
break it into a thousand-thousandths, and even into as many as a
million-millionths!
What is the very smallest number, then? A millionth?
No, because even a millionth can be divided into smaller parts! A
millionth can be broken into halves, thirds, tenths, hundredths—and
even millionths, too!
Just as there is no biggest number, there is no smallest number either.
Every number can be broken into fractions or smaller parts. Every
fraction can be broken into smaller fractions. And these smaller
fractions can be divided, too. So just as numbers can get bigger
forever, they can also get smaller forever.
