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!
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Don't worry about it it never comes up in higher math