Question 64-x-2
In the given equation, and are positive constants. The sum of the solutions to the given equation is , where is a constant. What is the value of ?
64 x 2 - 16 a + 4 b x + a b = 0 In
Hard-difficulty · SAT Math · Nonlinear Equations in One Variable — Quadratic solving (factoring, quadratic formula, completing square). Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
The correct answer is . Let and represent the solutions to the given equation. Then, the given equation can be rewritten as , or . Since this equation is equivalent to the given equation, it follows that . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields , or . Therefore, the sum of the solutions to the given equation, , is equal to . Since it's given that the sum of the solutions to the given equation is , where is a constant, it follows that . Note that 1/16, .0625, 0.062, and 0.063 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.
Alternate approach: The given equation can be rewritten as , where and are positive constants. Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . The solutions for a quadratic equation in the form , where , , and are constants, can be calculated using the quadratic formula, and . It follows that the sum of the solutions to a quadratic equation in the form is , which can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to , or . In the equation , , , and . Substituting for and for in yields , which can be rewritten as . Thus, the sum of the solutions to the given equation is . Since it's given that the sum of the solutions to the given equation is , where is a constant, it follows that .
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