2007 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 2

Problem

Define the operation $\star$ by $a \star b = (a+b)b.$ What is $(3 \star 5) - (5 \star 3)?$

$\textbf{(A) } -16 \qquad\textbf{(B) } -8 \qquad\textbf{(C) } 0 \qquad\textbf{(D) } 8 \qquad\textbf{(E) } 16$

Solution 1

Substitute and simplify. $(3+5)5 - (5+3)3 = (3+5)2 = (8)2 = \boxed{\textbf{(E) }16}$

Solution 2

Note that $(a \star b) - (b \star a) = (a+b)b - (b+a)a = (a+b)(b-a) = b^2 - a^2 = 5^2 - 3^2 = \boxed{\textbf{(E) }16}$ Note numbers were only plugged in at the end.

2007 AMC 10B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 1	Followed by Problem 3
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All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

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2007 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 2

Contents

Problem

Solution 1

Solution 2

See Also