1958 AHSME Problems/Problem 5

Problem

The expression $2 + \sqrt{2} + \frac{1}{2 + \sqrt{2}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{2} - 2}$ equals:

$\textbf{(A)}\ 2\qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 2 - \sqrt{2}\qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 2 + \sqrt{2}\qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 2\sqrt{2}\qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$

Solution

We have

\begin{align*}2+\sqrt{2}+\frac{2-\sqrt{2}}{4-2}+\frac{\sqrt{2}+2}{2-4}&=2+\sqrt{2}+\frac{1}{2}(2-\sqrt{2})-\frac{1}{2}(\sqrt{2}+2)\\&=\frac{1}{2}(2+\sqrt{2}+2-\sqrt{2})\\&= \boxed{\text{(A) }2}. (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg)

1958 AHSME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 4	Followed by Problem 6
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.

Page

Toolbox

Search

1958 AHSME Problems/Problem 5

Problem

Solution

See also