Rational numbers are numbers that can be written as fractions p/q, where p and q are integers and q is not equal to 0. Rational numbers are represented by the capital letter Q, which comes from the Italian word "quoziente" meaning quotient. Rational numbers are closed under the operations of addition, subtraction, and multiplication, meaning the result of these operations on rational numbers will always be rational. However, rational numbers are not closed under division, as division can sometimes result in irrational numbers. Rational numbers also follow the commutative properties of addition and multiplication.