This statement is false.
To understand why, let’s first clarify the definitions of rational numbers and whole numbers.
A rational number is any number that can be expressed as the fraction a/b, where a is an integer and b is a non-zero integer. Examples of rational numbers include 1/2, -3, and 4.75 because they can all be represented as a fraction.
On the other hand, whole numbers are the set of numbers that start from zero and include all positive integers. So, whole numbers are 0, 1, 2, 3, …. They do not include negative numbers or fractions.
Since rational numbers can include fractions and negative numbers, not all rational numbers qualify as whole numbers. For instance, 1/2 and -3 are rational, but they are not whole numbers.
Therefore, while some rational numbers may indeed be whole numbers (like 0, 1, or 5), it is not correct to say that every rational number is a whole number. Hence, the statement is false.