I'm reading this off a site http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/algebraic-numbers.html [quote]An algebraic number is any number that is a root of a non-zero polynomial with [b]rational coefficients. [/b] Example: is √2 (the square root of 2) algebraic or transcendental? √2 is the solution to x2 - 2 = 0, so is therefore algebraic [/quote] What? But √2 is [b]irrational![/b] EDIT: I get what a rational number is. I get what an irrational number is. But I don't get what an algebraic number is. [quote]The root of an algebraic equation with rational coefficients.[/quote] But I don't know what that's supposed to even mean!