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Algebra Difficulty 2.8 Junior Find the answer

The real numbers x,yx, y and zz satisfy the three equations x+y=7x+y=7, xz=180xz=-180, and (x+y+z)2=4(x+y+z)^{2}=4. If SS is the sum of the two possible values of yy, what is S-S?

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

Since x+y=7x+y=7, then x+y+z=7+zx+y+z=7+z. Thus, the equation (x+y+z)2=4(x+y+z)^{2}=4 becomes (7+z)2=4(7+z)^{2}=4. Since the square of 7+z7+z equals 4, then 7+z=27+z=2 or 7+z=27+z=-2. If 7+z=27+z=2, then z=5z=-5. In this case, since xz=180xz=-180, we get x=1805=36x=\frac{-180}{-5}=36 which gives y=7x=29y=7-x=-29. If 7+z=27+z=-2, then z=9z=-9. In this case, since xz=180xz=-180, we get x=1809=20x=\frac{-180}{-9}=20 which gives y=7x=13y=7-x=-13. We can check by direct substitution that (x,y,z)=(36,29,5)(x, y, z)=(36,-29,-5) and (x,y,z)=(20,13,9)(x, y, z)=(20,-13,-9) are both solutions to the original system of equations. Since SS is the sum of the possible values of yy, we get S=(29)+(13)=42S=(-29)+(-13)=-42 and so S=42-S=42.

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