forum.virtualchallengemeets.com

On District 2, #19:

19. Which of the following is NOT a transcendental number?

(A) 1.6180339887... (B) 2.7182818285... (C) .3245324532...
(D) 3.1415926536... (E) 0.6180339887...

The correct answer is (C), since that value is the solution to 9999x - 3245 = 0.
Aren't the golden ratio [unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula] (A) and its inverse [unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula] (E) both NOT transcendental as well?

My equations were:
([unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula]) [unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula] for the positive square root, and
([unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula]) [unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula] for the positive square root

Uh huh...

Yeah, all three are algebraic. When I took this test in practice, I chose the continued fraction since it seemed to be obviously what he wanted.

He might have been using this definition:
[unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula] to validate [unparseable or potentially dangerous latex formula] as transcendental...although if a number is a root to any polynomial equation with integer coefficients, it is supposed to be algebraic..so I don't think he thought it all the way through. (That definition above can easily be rewritten as the polynomial equation by expanding the hyperbolic sine function using its definition.)

The golen ration is an algebraic irrational number, but not transcendental.

It's likely that he just wanted to change from irrational to transcendental and didn't get to change the choices... (why we need editors?)