2011 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 7

Problem 7

Which of the following equations does NOT have a solution?

$\text{(A)}\:(x+7)^2=0$

$\text{(B)}\:|-3x|+5=0$

$\text{(C)}\:\sqrt{-x}-2=0$

$\text{(D)}\:\sqrt{x}-8=0$

$\text{(E)}\:|-3x|-4=0$

$|-3x|+5=0$ has no solution because absolute values output positives and this equation implies that the absolute value could output a negative.

Further: $(x+7)^2 = 0$ is true for $x = -7$

$\sqrt{-x}-2=0$ is true for $x = -4$

$\sqrt{x}-8=0$ is true for $x = 64$

$|-3x|-4=0$ is true for $x = \frac{4}{3}, -\frac{4}{3}$

Therefore, the answer is $\boxed{\mathrm{(B)}}$ .

Instead of solving, we can just categorize and solve.

[hide=Section 1] This contains $\mathrm{(A),(C),(D)} [/hide]

2011 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
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