The sum of two numbers is 2,
and the product of these same two numbers is 3.
Determine the sum of their reciprocals.
Solution:
The answer is 2 / 3
Let x and y represent the two numbers. Then
x + y = 2
xy = 3 This yields x = 1 + 1.414 i
and y = 1 - 1.414 i But there is a more artistic solution:
1/x + 1/y = (x + y) / (xy) = 2 / 3
Correctly solved by:
| 1. Michael Leatherman | Norfolk, VA |