i have no clue what Transcendental numbers are!?! can someone help me out, i want to know the definition but in a way that a normal middle school student can understand. also i need to know the history of it , how you use it, and examples. please help me, i have tried to do research but every definition makes me look up more words, someone please help.
2007-09-04 14:06:17 · 4 answers · asked by zoiy 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
Transcendental numbers are probably a bit beyond middle school level. (As examples, they include pi and e).
Perhaps you could ask your teacher. He/She should know your mathematical level well enough to know how much of the explanation you're likely to understand at this stage.
You should be able cope with rational numbers (these can be written as a fraction, e.g. 0.5, 2/3), and irrational numbers (cannot be written as a fraction, e.g. sqrt 2).
But the concept of transcendental numbers versus arithmetic numbers is a lot trickier. I don't think I came across it until A level (16-17 years old) and even then it blew my mind a bit when I first saw it.
If the concept still intrigues you, keep studying maths! It can be a truly beautiful subject with many many rewards (the concept of transcendental numbers being one of them).
2007-09-04 14:15:18 · answer #1 · answered by SV 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A transcendental number is one which is not algebraic.
An algebraic number is one which is a solution of a polynomial equation with rational coefficients (not all zero!).
Obviously every rational number is algebraic, since if r is rational then "x - r = 0" is a polynomial equation with rational coefficients and solution r. But also many irrational numbers are algebraic, such as â2 (and more generally any order root of a rational number).
The most well-known transcendental numbers are e and Ï, but there is a mathematical sense in which "almost all" real numbers are transcendental. (The algebraic numbers are countable; the transcendental numbers are uncountable and have the same cardinality as the reals.)
2007-09-04 14:17:55 · answer #2 · answered by Scarlet Manuka 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trancendental numbers are special numbers that are neither rational numbers or algebraic numbers. Pi and e, Euler's number, are important trancendental numbers.
2007-09-04 14:32:10 · answer #3 · answered by john s 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
See this website.
2007-09-04 14:20:19 · answer #4 · answered by frank 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋