1975 AHSME Problems/Problem 2

Problem

For which real values of m are the simultaneous equations

\begin{align*}y &= mx + 3 \\  y& = (2m - 1)x + 4\end{align*}

satisfied by at least one pair of real numbers $(x,y)$?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \text{all }m\qquad \textbf{(B)}\ \text{all }m\neq 0\qquad \textbf{(C)}\ \text{all }m\neq 1/2\qquad \textbf{(D)}\  \text{all }m\neq 1\qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \text{no values of }m$


Solution

Solution by e_power_pi_times_i


Solving the systems of equations, we find that $mx+3 = (2m-1)x+4$, which simplifies to $(m-1)x+1 = 0$. Therefore $x = \dfrac{1}{1-m}$. $x$ is only a real number if $\boxed{\textbf{(D) }m\neq 1}$.

See Also

1975 AHSME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 1
Followed by
Problem 3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
All AHSME Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png