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[[Category:Introductory Algebra Problems]]

Revision as of 18:03, 17 May 2018

Problem

The pair of equations $3^{x+y}=81$ and $81^{x-y}=3$ has:

$\textbf{(A)}\ \text{no common solution} \qquad \\ \textbf{(B)}\ \text{the solution} \text{ } x=2, y=2\qquad \\ \textbf{(C)}\ \text{the solution} \text{ } x=2\frac{1}{2}, y=1\frac{1}{2} \qquad \\ \textbf{(D)}\text{ a common solution in positive and negative integers} \qquad \\ \textbf{(E)}\ \text{none of these}$

Solution

Rewrite the equations so both sides have a common base. \[3^{x+y}=3^4\] \[3^{4(x-y)}=3^1\] This results in a linear system of equations. \[x+y=4\] \[4x-4y=1\] Solve the system to get $x=\frac{17}{8}$ and $y=\frac{15}{8}$. The answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(E)}}$.

See Also

1960 AHSC (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 17 		Followed by
Problem 19
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 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40
All AHSME Problems and Solutions
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