When three positive integers are added in pairs, the resulting sums are 998, 1050, and 1234. What is the difference between the largest and smallest of the three original positive integers?
Solution
Suppose that the three integers are and where , , and . From the first two equations, or . Since and , then or and so . Since and , then . Since and , then . The three original numbers are 407, 591, and 643. The difference between the largest and smallest of these integers is .
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