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That's Not a Number Trivia Quiz

This quiz will go over some famous mathematical constants, all irrational numbers, with decimal places that never end. These numbers are usually represented by a letter in mathematical problems, hence, "That's not a number!"

A multiple-choice quiz by geowhiz. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
geowhiz

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
365,098

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
247

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This number is one of the most recognizable constants in the world, used in mainly in determining properties of circles. Competitions exist around the world for people who have memorized this number to a certain number of decimal places. In mathematical equations this number is represented by π. Hint

Golden Mean

LaGrange error

Planck's Constant

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Question 2 of 10

2. The value e or Euler's number, is another famous Transcendental number with an approximate value of 2.71828. This number can be represented in many ways mathematically; which below is NOT a way of expressing e? Hint

limit of (x^k)/(k!) as k approaches infinity

limit of (1+1/n)^n as n approaches infinity

the sum of the sequence of digits represented by 1/x as x approaches infinity

unique value of a, such that derivative of f(x)=a^x at the point x=0 is equal to 1

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Question 3 of 10

3. The golden ratio, represented by the Greek letter Phi, is defined as the ratio where a+b is to a as a is to b. The golden ratio is used in spirals, golden rectangles and many other real world applications. This value is approximately what? Hint

-1.754

3.14

1.618

2.897

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Question 4 of 10

4. This "number" is famous for being imaginary, meaning there is no numeral value that can be expressed simply for this number. It is exactly equal to the square root of -1. What letter expresses this imaginary value? Hint

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Question 5 of 10

5. Different from e (Euler's number), Euler's constant, represented by the Greek letter Gamma, still has many unknown properties for mathematicians. Which of these has been known about Euler's constant prior to the 21st century? Hint

Whether it is rational or not

Whether it is algebraic or not

Whether it is transcendental or not

Whether it is real or not

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Question 6 of 10

6. Ramsey numbers are the numbers of vertexes on a K(n) where R(x,y) will have x connecting lines of colour 1 and y connecting lines of colour 2 in a two colour colouring scheme. For R(3,3) the Ramsey number is 6. During Ramsey's lifetime only a few of his namesake numbers were ever proved. What is the highest Ramsey number calculated during Ramsey's lifetime? Hint

R has been calculated for all known numbers

R(20,20)

R(3,3)

R(12,12)

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Question 7 of 10

7. This man first proved the existence of transcendental numbers in 1844 with his namesake constant, represented by the limit of 10^(-k) as k approaches infinity. This number is a decimal with ones in the n-th digit where n is a value of k!, with all other digits being 0, eg. 0.110001000 etc. Hint

Joseph Liouville

Albert Einstein

Paul Erdos

Carl Friedrich Gauss

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Question 8 of 10

8. This ratio is similar to the golden ratio in that it defines not the limiting ratio of Fibonacci numbers like the golden ratio but the limiting ratio of consecutive Pell numbers. It is defined as the ratio where 2a+b is to a as a is to b. What is this number, named after the similar Golden ratio? Hint

Platinum ratio

Silver ratio

Bronze ratio

Quartz ratio

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Question 9 of 10

9. Gauss's constant, used in math, defined as the reciprocal of the arithmetic-geometric mean of 1 and the square root of 2, is the same value as Gauss's gravitational constant, used in physics and astronomy, which is used to predict planetary orbit.

True

False

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Question 10 of 10

10. The Erdős-Borwein constant is defined as the sum, limit approaching infinity, of the reciprocals of the Mersenne numbers. A Mersenne prime is defined as a prime number that is one less than a number that is a power of two, ex. M=2^(n)-1 where M is a Mersenne prime. The first Mersenne prime is 3. Which of the following numbers are prime but NOT a Mersenne prime? Hint

127

151

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Pi

The number Pi, usually just approximated for simple problems as 3.14, is so well known it even has its own day in America, commonly celebrated in math classes across the country on March 14th. Chao Lu, who broke the world record for memorized digits of Pi on November 19 2005, spent over 24 hours reciting 67890 digits.

Answer: the sum of the sequence of digits represented by 1/x as x approaches infinity

e should not be confused with Euler's constant which is represented by the Greek letter gamma. The easiest way to think of the representation of e is that e is the base of the natural logarithm.

Answer: 1.618

This ratio shows up in many things in the natural world, and is also thought to affect our perceptions of beauty based on how a person's facial features conform with the golden ratio.

Answer: i

This number is important in math because it provides a root for every known number and can express any polynomial regardless of being positive of negative.

Answer: Whether it is real or not

In his lifetime, Euler was only able to calculate this number to 6 decimal places. As of 2013 it has been calculated to 29,844,489,545 decimal places but even with the advent of computer-assisted proofs in the 1990s, proving whether Euler's constant is rational or irrational remained one of the big unsolved mathematical problems at the turn of the millennium.

Answer: R(3,3)

An easier way to think about it is the friends problem. Suppose you are at a party and you are with a group of x people where everyone is either a mutual friend or stranger. The Ramsey number of (x,y) is the least number of people in this group where at least x are mutual friends or y are mutual strangers. For R(3,3) this equals 6.

This means that if you have a group of 6 people, at least 3 people included in this group are guaranteed to be either mutual friends or strangers. The proof for R(4,4) was not discovered until 1979, 49 years after Ramsey's death.

As of 2013 R(4,4) is still the highest known number, R(5,5) has only been solved as far as knowing it is between 43 and 49 inclusive.

Answer: Joseph Liouville

The Liouville constant is an important constant in mathematics as it was the first example of non-algebraic transcendental numbers proven to have this porperty. Other transcendental numbers include Pi and e.

Answer: Silver ratio

Silver rectangles exist in the same way that Golden rectangles exist. An interesting fact about Silver rectangles is that most common paper sizes follow the Silver ratio.

Answer: False

The Gauss gravitational constant deals with the angular momentum and velocity of planets in orbit around the sun.

Answer: 151

The first few Mersenne primes were discovered by ancient Greek mathematicians for their interesting relation to perfect numbers, numbers whose divisors, excluding itself, sum to itself.

Source: Author geowhiz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor WesleyCrusher before going online.
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