Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2003

Algebra Difficulty 4.0 AMC 10/12 Find the answer Italy

Problem:

Given two numbers xx and yy with 0<x<10 < x < 1, 0<y<10 < y < 1, which of the following statements is always true?

Pick one

Solution

Solution:

The answer is (E)\mathbf{(E)}. This statement is always true, since x<1x < 1, while 1y>1\frac{1}{y} > 1. For x=12x = \frac{1}{2}, y=13y = \frac{1}{3} the hypotheses of the text are satisfied, but (B), (C) and (D) are false. Finally x=y=34x = y = \frac{3}{4} provides a counterexample for (A).

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from it; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.