In mathematics, the repeating decimal 0.

999 (sometimes written with more or fewer 9s

before the final ellipsis, for example as 0.9, or in a variety of other variants such as 0.9, 0.
(9), or ) denotes a real number that can be shown to be the number one. In other words,
the symbols "0.999" and "1" represent the same number. Proofs of this equality have
been formulated with varying degrees of mathematical rigor, taking into account preferred
development of the real numbers, background assumptions, historical context, and target
audience.
Every nonzero, terminating decimal (with infinitely many trailing 0s) has an equal twin
representation with infinitely many trailing 9s (for example, 8.32 and 8.31999). The
terminating decimal representation is usually preferred, contributing to the misconception
that it is the only representation. The same phenomenon occurs in all other bases (with a
given base's largest digit) or in any similar representation of the real numbers.
The equality of 0.999 and 1 is closely related to the absence of nonzero infinitesimals in
the real number system, the most commonly used system in mathematical analysis.
Some alternative number systems, such as the hyperreals, do contain nonzero
infinitesimals. In most such number systems, the standard interpretation of the expression
0.999 makes it equal to 1, but in some of these number systems, the symbol "0.999"
admits other interpretations that contain infinitely many 9s while falling infinitesimally short
of 1.
The equality 0.999 = 1 has long been accepted by mathematicians and is part of
general mathematical education. Nonetheless, some students find it
sufficiently counterintuitive that they question or reject it. Such skepticism is common
enough that the difficulty of convincing them of the validity of this identity has been the
subject of several studies in mathematics education.

Algebraic proofs[edit]
Algebraic proofs showing that 0.999 represents the number 1 use concepts such
as fractions, long division, and digit manipulation to build transformations preserving
equality from 0.999 to 1. However, these proofs are not rigorous as they do not include a
careful analytic definition of 0.999.

Fractions and long division[edit]

One reason that infinite decimals are a necessary extension of finite decimals is to
represent fractions. Using long division, a simple division of integers like 19 becomes
a recurring decimal, 0.111, in which the digits repeat without end. This decimal yields a
quick proof for 0.999 = 1. Multiplication of 9 times 1 produces 9 in each digit, so 9
0.111 equals 0.999 and 9 19 equals 1, so 0.999 = 1:
This result is consistent with other ninth fractions, all of which have repeating decimals,
such as 39 and 89. If 0.999 is to be consistent, it must equal 99 = 1.

Digit manipulation[edit]
When a number in decimal notation is multiplied by 10, the digits do not change but
each digit moves one place to the left. Thus 10 0.999 equals 9.999, which is
9 greater than the original number. To see this, consider that in subtracting 0.999
from 9.999, each of the digits after the decimal separator cancels, i.e. the result
is 9 9 = 0 for each such digit:

Discussion[edit]
Although these proofs demonstrate that 0.999 = 1, the extent to which
they explain the equation depends on the audience. In introductory arithmetic,
such proofs help explain why 0.999 = 1 but 0.333 < 0.34. In introductory
algebra, the proofs help explain why the general method of converting between
fractions and repeating decimals works. But the proofs shed little light on the
fundamental relationship between decimals and the numbers they represent,
which underlies the question of how two different decimals can be said to be
equal at all.[1]
Once a representation scheme is defined, it can be used to justify the rules of
decimal arithmetic used in the above proofs. Moreover, one can directly
demonstrate that the decimals 0.999 and 1.000 both represent the same
real number; it is built into the definition. This is done below.

Analytic proofs[edit]
Since the question of 0.999 does not affect the formal development of
mathematics, it can be postponed until one proves the standard theorems
of real analysis. One requirement is to characterize real numbers that can be
written in decimal notation, consisting of an optional sign, a finite sequence of
one or more digits forming an integer part, a decimal separator, and a
sequence of digits forming a fractional part. For the purpose of discussing
0.999, the integer part can be summarized as b0 and one can neglect
negatives, so a decimal expansion has the form
It should be noted that the fraction part, unlike the integer part, is not
limited to a finite number of digits. This is a positional notation, so for
example the digit 5 in 500 contributes ten times as much as the 5 in 50,
and the 5 in 0.05 contributes one tenth as much as the 5 in 0.5.

Infinite series and sequences[edit]

Further information: Decimal representation
Perhaps the most common development of decimal expansions is to
define them as sums of infinite series. In general:
For 0.999 one can apply the convergence theorem
concerning geometric series:[2]
If then
Since 0.999 is such a sum with a common ratio r = 110, the
theorem makes short work of the question:
This proof (actually, that 10 equals 9.999) appears as early
as 1770 in Leonhard Euler's Elements of Algebra.[3]

Limits: The unit interval, including the base-4 fraction sequence

(.3, .33, .333, ) converging to 1.

The sum of a geometric series is itself a result even older than

Euler. A typical 18th-century derivation used a term-by-term
manipulation similar to the algebraic proof given above, and
as late as 1811, Bonnycastle's textbook An Introduction to

Algebra uses such an argument for geometric series to justify

the same maneuver on 0.999[4] A 19th-century reaction
against such liberal summation methods resulted in the
definition that still dominates today: the sum of a series
is defined to be the limit of the sequence of its partial sums. A
corresponding proof of the theorem explicitly computes that
sequence; it can be found in any proof-based introduction to
calculus or analysis.[5]
A sequence (x0, x1, x2, ) has a limit x if the distance |x xn|
becomes arbitrarily small as n increases. The statement that
0.999 = 1 can itself be interpreted and proven as a limit:[6]
The first two equalities can be interpreted as symbol
shorthand definitions. The remaining equalities can be
proven. The last step, that 110 0 as n , is often
justified by the Archimedean property of the real numbers.
This limit-based attitude towards 0.999 is often put in
more evocative but less precise terms. For example, the
1846 textbook The University Arithmetic explains, ".999 +,
continued to infinity = 1, because every annexation of a 9
brings the value closer to 1"; the 1895 Arithmetic for
Schools says, "when a large number of 9s is taken, the
difference between 1 and .99999 becomes
inconceivably small".[7] Such heuristics are often
interpreted by students as implying that 0.999 itself is
less than 1.
n

Nested intervals and least upper

bounds[edit]
Further information: Nested intervals

Nested intervals: in base 3, 1 = 1.000 = 0.222

The series definition above is a simple way to define the

real number named by a decimal expansion. A
complementary approach is tailored to the opposite
process: for a given real number, define the decimal
expansion(s) to name it.
If a real number x is known to lie in the closed interval [0,
10] (i.e., it is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or
equal to 10), one can imagine dividing that interval into ten
pieces that overlap only at their endpoints: [0, 1], [1, 2], [2,

3], and so on up to [9, 10]. The number x must belong to

one of these; if it belongs to [2, 3] then one records the
digit "2" and subdivides that interval into [2, 2.1], [2.1, 2.2],
, [2.8, 2.9], [2.9, 3]. Continuing this process yields an
infinite sequence of nested intervals, labeled by an infinite
sequence of digits b0, b1, b2, b3, , and one writes
In this formalism, the identities 1 = 0.999 and
1 = 1.000 reflect, respectively, the fact that 1 lies in
both [0, 1] and [1, 2], so one can choose either
subinterval when finding its digits. To ensure that this
notation does not abuse the "=" sign, one needs a
way to reconstruct a unique real number for each
decimal. This can be done with limits, but other
constructions continue with the ordering theme.[8]
One straightforward choice is the nested intervals
theorem, which guarantees that given a sequence of
nested, closed intervals whose lengths become
arbitrarily small, the intervals contain exactly one real
number in their intersection. So b0.b1b2b3 is defined
to be the unique number contained within all the
intervals [b0, b0 + 1], [b0.b1, b0.b1 + 0.1], and so on.
0.999 is then the unique real number that lies in all
of the intervals [0, 1], [0.9, 1], [0.99, 1], and [0.999,
1] for every finite string of 9s. Since 1 is an element of
each of these intervals, 0.999 = 1.[9]
The Nested Intervals Theorem is usually founded
upon a more fundamental characteristic of the real
numbers: the existence of least upper
bounds or suprema. To directly exploit these objects,
one may define b0.b1b2b3 to be the least upper
bound of the set of approximants {b0, b0.b1, b0.b1b2, }.
[10]
One can then show that this definition (or the
nested intervals definition) is consistent with the
subdivision procedure, implying 0.999 = 1 again.
Tom Apostol concludes,
The fact that a real number might have two different
decimal representations is merely a reflection of the
fact that two different sets of real numbers can have
the same supremum.[11]

Proofs from the construction of

the real numbers[edit]
Further information: Construction of the real numbers
Some approaches explicitly define real numbers to be
certain structures built upon the rational numbers,
using axiomatic set theory. The natural numbers 0,
1, 2, 3, and so on begin with 0 and continue
upwards, so that every number has a successor. One
can extend the natural numbers with their negatives to
give all the integers, and to further extend to ratios,
giving the rational numbers. These number systems
are accompanied by the arithmetic of addition,
subtraction, multiplication, and division. More subtly,

they include ordering, so that one number can be

compared to another and found to be less than,
greater than, or equal to another number.
The step from rationals to reals is a major extension.
There are at least two popular ways to achieve this
step, both published in 1872: Dedekind
cuts and Cauchy sequences. Proofs that 0.999 = 1
which directly use these constructions are not found in
textbooks on real analysis, where the modern trend
for the last few decades has been to use an axiomatic
analysis. Even when a construction is offered, it is
usually applied towards proving the axioms of the real
numbers, which then support the above proofs.
However, several authors express the idea that
starting with a construction is more logically
appropriate, and the resulting proofs are more selfcontained.[12]

Dedekind cuts[edit]
Further information: Dedekind cut
In the Dedekind cut approach, each real number x is
defined as the infinite set of all rational numbers
less than x.[13] In particular, the real number 1 is the
set of all rational numbers that are less than 1.
[14]
Every positive decimal expansion easily determines
a Dedekind cut: the set of rational numbers which are
less than some stage of the expansion. So the real
number 0.999 is the set of rational numbers r such
that r < 0, or r < 0.9, or r < 0.99, or r is less than some
other number of the form
[15]

Every element of 0.999 is less than 1, so it is an

element of the real number 1. Conversely, an
element of 1 is a rational number
which implies
Since 0.999 and 1 contain the same
rational numbers, they are the same set:
0.999 = 1.
The definition of real numbers as
Dedekind cuts was first published
by Richard Dedekind in 1872.[16] The
above approach to assigning a real
number to each decimal expansion is due
to an expository paper titled "Is 0.999
= 1?" by Fred Richman in Mathematics
Magazine,[17] which is targeted at teachers
of collegiate mathematics, especially at
the junior/senior level, and their students.
[18]
Richman notes that taking Dedekind
cuts in any dense subset of the rational
numbers yields the same results; in
particular, he uses decimal fractions, for
which the proof is more immediate. He
also notes that typically the definitions

allow { x : x < 1 } to be a cut but not { x : x

1 } (or vice versa) "Why do that?
Precisely to rule out the existence of
distinct numbers 0.9* and 1. [] So we
see that in the traditional definition of the
real numbers, the equation 0.9* = 1 is
built in at the beginning."[19] A further
modification of the procedure leads to a
different structure where the two are not
equal. Although it is consistent, many of
the common rules of decimal arithmetic
no longer hold, for example the fraction
1
3 has no representation; see "Alternative
number systems" below.

Cauchy sequences[edit]
Further information: Cauchy sequence
Another approach is to define a real
number as the limit of a Cauchy
sequence of rational numbers. This
construction of the real numbers uses the
ordering of rationals less directly. First,
the distance between xand y is defined
as the absolute value |x y|, where the
absolute value |z| is defined as the
maximum of z and z, thus never
negative. Then the reals are defined to be
the sequences of rationals that have
the Cauchy sequence property using this
distance. That is, in the sequence
(x0, x1, x2, ), a mapping from natural
numbers to rationals, for any positive
rational there is an N such that |
xm xn| for all m, n > N. (The distance
between terms becomes smaller than any
positive rational.)[20]
If (xn) and (yn) are two Cauchy sequences,
then they are defined to be equal as real
numbers if the sequence (xn yn) has the
limit 0. Truncations of the decimal
number b0.b1b2b3 generate a sequence
of rationals which is Cauchy; this is taken
to define the real value of the number.
[21]
Thus in this formalism the task is to
show that the sequence of rational
numbers
has the limit 0. Considering the nth
term of the sequence, for n , it
must therefore be shown that
This limit is plain[22] if one
understands the definition of
limit. So again 0.999 = 1.
The definition of real numbers as
Cauchy sequences was first
published separately by Eduard

Heine and Georg Cantor, also in

1872.[16] The above approach to
decimal expansions, including
the proof that 0.999 = 1,
closely follows Griffiths & Hilton's
1970 work A comprehensive
textbook of classical
mathematics: A contemporary
interpretation. The book is written
specifically to offer a second look
at familiar concepts in a
contemporary light.[23]

Infinite decimal
representation[edit]
Further information: Construction
of the real numbers Stevin's
construction
Commonly in secondary schools'
mathematics education, the real
numbers are constructed by
defining a number using an
integer followed by a radix
point and an infinite sequence
written out as a string to
represent the fractional part of
any given real number. In this
construction, the set of any
combination of an integer and
digits after the decimal point (or
radix point in non-base 10
systems) is the set of real
numbers. This construction can
be rigorously shown to satisfy all
of the real axioms after defining
an equivalence relation over the
set that defines 1 =eq 0.999 as
well as for any other nonzero
decimals with only finitely many
nonzero terms in the decimal
string with its trailing 9s version.
[24]
With this construction of the
reals, all proofs of the statement
"1 = 0.999" can be viewed as
implicitly assuming the equality
when any operations are
performed on the real numbers.

Generalizations[edit]
The result that 0.999 = 1
generalizes readily in two ways.
First, every nonzero number with
a finite decimal notation
(equivalently, endless trailing 0s)
has a counterpart with trailing 9s.

For example, 0.24999 equals

0.25, exactly as in the special
case considered. These numbers
are exactly the decimal fractions,
and they are dense.[25]
Second, a comparable theorem
applies in each radix or base. For
example, in base 2 (the binary
numeral system) 0.111 equals
1, and in base 3 (the ternary
numeral system) 0.222 equals
1. In general, any terminating
base b expression has a
counterpart with repeated trailing
digits equal to b 1. Textbooks of
real analysis are likely to skip the
example of 0.999 and present
one or both of these
generalizations from the start.[26]
Alternative representations of 1
also occur in non-integer bases.
For example, in the golden ratio
base, the two standard
representations are 1.000 and
0.101010, and there are
infinitely many more
representations that include
adjacent 1s. Generally, for almost
all q between 1 and 2, there are
uncountably many baseq expansions of 1. On the other
hand, there are still uncountably
many q (including all natural
numbers greater than 1) for
which there is only one baseq expansion of 1, other than the
trivial 1.000. This result was
first obtained by Paul Erds,
Miklos Horvth, and Istvn Jo
around 1990. In 1998 Vilmos
Komornik and Paola Loreti
determined the smallest such
base, the KomornikLoreti
constant q = 1.787231650. In
this base, 1 =
0.1101001100101101001011001
1010011; the digits are given
by the ThueMorse sequence,
which does not repeat.[27]
A more far-reaching
generalization addresses the
most general positional numeral
systems. They too have multiple
representations, and in some
sense the difficulties are even
worse. For example:[28]

In the balanced
ternary system, 12 = 0.111
= 1.111.

In the reverse factorial

number system (using bases
2!,3!,4!, for
positions after the decimal
point), 1