CH. 6 review #4

Question

The sum of a number and its reciprocal is 5/2. Find the numbers.

 

(smaller value)=?

 

(larger value)=?

Answer 1

n represents the number

1/n represents its reciprocal

 n + 1/n = 5/2

2n² + 2 = 5n               multiply both sides by LCD, 2n

2n² - 5n + 2 = 0          subtract 5n from both sides

(2n - 1)(n - 2) = 0       FOIL

 

2 and 1/2