Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 3 / 89 of 260 #89 of 1964

Problem 89

AMC 10/12, early questions
Algebra Difficulty 3.2 Find the answer

Given am=3a^{m}=3 and an=2a^{n}=2, find a2m+3na^{2m+3n}.

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

Official solution

Given am=3a^{m}=3 and an=2a^{n}=2, we are asked to find a2m+3na^{2m+3n}. Let's break this down step by step:

1. **Express a2m+3na^{2m+3n} in terms of ama^{m} and ana^{n}:**
a2m+3n=a2ma3n a^{2m+3n} = a^{2m} \cdot a^{3n}
This step uses the property of exponents that ab+c=abaca^{b+c} = a^b \cdot a^c.

2. **Substitute ama^{m} and ana^{n} with their given values:**
a2ma3n=(am)2(an)3 a^{2m} \cdot a^{3n} = (a^{m})^{2} \cdot (a^{n})^{3}
Here, we use the property that (ab)c=abc(a^b)^c = a^{bc}.

3. **Replace ama^{m} and ana^{n} with their respective values:**
(am)2(an)3=32×23 (a^{m})^{2} \cdot (a^{n})^{3} = 3^{2} \times 2^{3}
Since am=3a^{m} = 3 and an=2a^{n} = 2, we replace them directly.

4. Calculate the powers and multiply:
32×23=9×8 3^{2} \times 2^{3} = 9 \times 8
Here, we calculate 32=93^2 = 9 and 23=82^3 = 8.

5. Multiply the results to find the final answer:
9×8=72 9 \times 8 = 72
Multiplying the two results gives us the final answer.

Therefore, a2m+3n=72a^{2m+3n} = 72. So, the answer is 72\boxed{72}.

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.