Let a,b, and c be real numbers such that a+b+c=100, ab+bc+ca=20, and (a+b)(a+c)=24. Compute all possible values of bc.
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
We first expand the left-hand-side of the third equation to get (a+b)(a+c)=a2+ac+ab+bc=24. From this, we subtract the second equation to obtain a2=4, so a=±2. If a=2, plugging into the first equation gives us b+c=98 and plugging into the second equation gives us 2(b+c)+bc=20⇒2(98)+bc=20⇒bc=−176. Then, if a=−2, plugging into the first equation gives us b+c=102, and plugging into the second equation gives us −2(b+c)+bc=20⇒−2(102)+bc=20⇒bc=224. Therefore, the possible values of bc are 224,−176.
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