Difference between revisions of "1967 AHSME Problems/Problem 14"

(Problem)
(Problem 14)
Line 1: Line 1:
==Problem 14==
+
==Problem==
  
 
Let <math>f(t)=\frac{t}{1-t}</math>, <math>t \not= 1</math>.  If <math>y=f(x)</math>, then <math>x</math> can be expressed as  
 
Let <math>f(t)=\frac{t}{1-t}</math>, <math>t \not= 1</math>.  If <math>y=f(x)</math>, then <math>x</math> can be expressed as  
Line 8: Line 8:
 
\textbf{(D)}\ f(-y)\qquad
 
\textbf{(D)}\ f(-y)\qquad
 
\textbf{(E)}\ f(y)</math>
 
\textbf{(E)}\ f(y)</math>
 
[[1967 AHSME Problems/Problem 14|Solution]]
 
  
 
== Solution ==
 
== Solution ==

Revision as of 14:07, 10 August 2020

Problem

Let $f(t)=\frac{t}{1-t}$, $t \not= 1$. If $y=f(x)$, then $x$ can be expressed as

$\textbf{(A)}\ f\left(\frac{1}{y}\right)\qquad \textbf{(B)}\ -f(y)\qquad \textbf{(C)}\ -f(-y)\qquad \textbf{(D)}\ f(-y)\qquad \textbf{(E)}\ f(y)$

Solution

Let $x^2 = a$ and $y^2 = b.$

then

        $a+4b=1$

and

        $4a+b=4$

By solving we find--

$a=1$

$b=0$

However \[a=x^2\] and \[b=y^2\]

Therefore $y=0$, and $x=1,-1$

Thus, the only solutions are $(0,1)$, and $(0,-1)$


So there are only 2 solutions


$\rightarrow$ $\fbox{C}$

See also

1967 AHSME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 13
Followed by
Problem 15
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