Okay, so now that I know that it has to be on one side, I'm going to try it. Please tell me if this is right because I think that it might be right this time.
Dang it, and I thought I was good at math, but now I realized that I'm horrible haha. Well at least I was the only one to actaully attempt it correctly.
You aren't horrible, this is an extremely hard problem for it's appearance.
Here is the solution:
X=-(AB)/(A-1)
and here is how you solve it:
1. let A=2 and B=3 X=2Y Y=X+3
2. Substitute X+3 for Y X=2(X+3), X=2X+6
3. Now you put A and B back into the equation A=2 B=3 6=2*3=AB X=AX+AB
4. This is the hard part, you have to think of what the equation would be if it still had 2 and 3 in it. X=2X+6 X=AX+AB
5. Subtract X from both sides 0=(2-1)X+6 0=(A-1)X+AB
6. Solve for (A-1)X (2-1)X=-6 (A-1)X=-(AB)
7. Solve for X X=-6 X=-(AB)/(A-1)
A and B were replaced by 2 and 3 for use as an aid to help people see how the solution works. The choice of numbers does not effect the solution, and this can be proved easily by replacing A and B with any two numbers.
Ohh, that was a really hard problem. Also, for steevo's question I would have to say a snowball rolling down a snowy mountain because it does get bigger as it rolls.
Nick, If you enjoy math you should have a crack at this next probem, it should keep you pretty busy for a few days
Ok, I cannott draw this out but I can describe what it is.
There is an space between two buildings. The space is X units long. There are two ladders that are set up between the buildings. One ladder is 20 units long, the other is 30 units long. The ladders cross 10 feet above the ground.
Oh man! I tried that equation out last night and got an answer with a 1 in it! But I thought that it was wrong because there was a 1 in it, and I thought it could ONLY contain A & B.
Yeah, the 1 has to be there, but it does not really matter because the 1 acctually means 1X when it is solved, because the only way to write AX-X is (A-1)X, which is just AX with 1 less X :P
I got this from one of my proffessors, I have made some progress on it but it is an extremely difficult problem. I have determined that X<17.3205 and I have had marked success turning the scenario into a set of similar triangles. The progress that I have made in that regard is harder to post as it is described best by diagrams.
