AlgebraDifficulty 5.1AIME, harderProve itUnited States
Problem:
If a and b satisfy the equations a+b1=4 and a1+b=1516, determine the product of all possible values of ab.
Solution
Solution:
We multiply a+b1=4 and a1+b=1516 to get (a+b1)(a1+b)=4⋅1516=1564. Expanding the left side: a⋅a1+ab+b1⋅a1+b1b=1+ab+ab1+1=2+ab+ab1. So, 2+ab+ab1=1564. Subtract 2 from both sides: ab+ab1=1564−2=1564−30=1534. Let x=ab. Then x+x1=1534. Multiply both sides by x: x2−1534x+1=0. By Vieta's formulas, the product of the roots is 1.
Therefore, the product of all possible values of ab is 1.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: MathNet,
licensed CC-BY-4.0.
Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.