TITLE: If $\log_35=a$ and $\log_54=b$, what is $\log_{60}70$?
QUESTION [12 upvotes]: One student sent me this question:

If $\log_35=a$ and $\log_54=b$, what is $\log_{60}70$?

Question asks the value of $\log_{60}70$ in terms of $a$ and $b$. Equations for $a$ and $b$ involved $2$, $3$ and $5$. So I am not sure how to deal with $7$ in $\log_{60}70$ by using logarithm identities. I may be missing something very obvious.

REPLY [9 votes]: If there is an algebraic function $f$ with
$$
\log_{60}70 =f(a,b)= f\left(\frac{\log 5}{\log 3}, \frac{\log 4}{\log 5}\right)$$
then since
$$
\log_{60}70 = \frac{\log 70}{\log 60} = \frac{\log 7+\log 2+\log 5}{2\log 2+\log 3+\log 5},$$
we would have
$$
\log 7 = f\left(\frac{\log 5}{\log 3}, \frac{\log 4}{\log 5}\right)(2\log 2+\log 3+\log 5) - \log 2 - \log 5
$$
so $\log 7$ would be algebraic in $\log 2$, $\log 3$, and $\log 5$.
But according to Schanuel's conjecture, the logarithms of the primes are algebraically independent.