Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /72 of 310

, 2012

Algebra Difficulty 1.4 Junior Find the answer Canada

If (2a)(2b)=64(2^a)(2^b)=64, then the mean (average) of aa and bb is

Pick one

Solution

Since (2a)(2b)=64(2^a)(2^b)=64, then 2a+b=642^{a+b}=64, using an exponent law.

Since 64=2664=2^6, then 2a+b=262^{a+b}=2^6 and so a+b=6a+b=6.

Therefore, the average of aa and bb is 12(a+b)=3\frac{1}{2}(a+b)=3.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,444 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: CEMC, University of Waterloo, licensed CC-BY-NC-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.