Difference between revisions of "2017 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 21"
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There are <math>2</math> cases to consider: | There are <math>2</math> cases to consider: | ||
− | Case <math>1</math>: <math>2</math> of <math>a</math>, <math>b</math>, and <math>c</math> are positive and the other is negative. WLOG assume that <math>a</math> and <math>b</math> are positive and <math>c</math> is negative. In this case, we have that <cmath>\frac{a}{|a|}+\frac{b}{|b|}+\frac{c}{|c|}+\frac{abc}{|abc|}=1+1-1-1=0.</cmath> | + | Case <math>1</math>: <math>2</math> of <math>a</math>, <math>b</math>, and <math>c</math> are positive and the other is negative. WLOG, we can assume that <math>a</math> and <math>b</math> are positive and <math>c</math> is negative. In this case, we have that <cmath>\frac{a}{|a|}+\frac{b}{|b|}+\frac{c}{|c|}+\frac{abc}{|abc|}=1+1-1-1=0.</cmath> |
Case <math>2</math>: <math>2</math> of <math>a</math>, <math>b</math>, and <math>c</math> are negative and the other is positive. WLOG assume that <math>a</math> and <math>b</math> are negative and <math>c</math> is positive. In this case, we have that <cmath>\frac{a}{|a|}+\frac{b}{|b|}+\frac{c}{|c|}+\frac{abc}{|abc|}=-1-1+1+1=0.</cmath> | Case <math>2</math>: <math>2</math> of <math>a</math>, <math>b</math>, and <math>c</math> are negative and the other is positive. WLOG assume that <math>a</math> and <math>b</math> are negative and <math>c</math> is positive. In this case, we have that <cmath>\frac{a}{|a|}+\frac{b}{|b|}+\frac{c}{|c|}+\frac{abc}{|abc|}=-1-1+1+1=0.</cmath> |
Revision as of 15:01, 4 November 2018
Contents
Problem 21
Suppose ,
, and
are nonzero real numbers, and
. What are the possible value(s) for
?
Solution 1
There are cases to consider:
Case :
of
,
, and
are positive and the other is negative. WLOG, we can assume that
and
are positive and
is negative. In this case, we have that
Case :
of
,
, and
are negative and the other is positive. WLOG assume that
and
are negative and
is positive. In this case, we have that
In both cases, we get that the given expression equals .
Solution 2
Assuming numbers:
WLOG and
(Other numbers can apply for
and
as long as their sum is
.) . Then plug
and
into the given equation. The result is always
.
See Also
2017 AMC 8 (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 20 |
Followed by Problem 22 | |
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 | ||
All AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions |
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