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Algebra Difficulty 2.1 Junior Find the answer

For which value of x x is x3<x2 x^3 < x^2 ?

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

Solution

If x=1 x = 1 , then x2=1 x^2 = 1 and x3=1 x^3 = 1 and so x3=x2 x^3 = x^2 . If x>1 x > 1 , then x3 x^3 equals x x times x2 x^2 ; since x>1 x > 1 , then x x times x2 x^2 is greater than x2 x^2 and so x3>x2 x^3 > x^2 . Therefore, if x x is positive with x3<x2 x^3 < x^2 , we must have 0<x<1 0 < x < 1 . Of the given choices, only x=34 x = \frac{3}{4} satisfies 0<x<1 0 < x < 1 , and so the answer is (B).

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