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Two positive numbers have a difference of four and a product of 96 what are the numbers

User Kapitan
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1 Answer

1 vote

Answer:
The two positive numbers are 12 and 8.

Step-by-step explanation:
The first phrase in the sentence tells us the difference between numbers equals 4, which can be represented a - b = 4

The second phrase tells us when multiplied together, it equals 96, which can be represented by the ab = 96, or a(b) = 96

So, first step is to list the factors of 96. I prefer to list them as pairs:
1, 96; 2, 48; 3, 32; 4, 24; 6, 16; and 8, 12

Now we plug each these pairs into the first equation to see if they satisfy the equation.

96 - 1 = 95 24 - 4 = 20
95 > 4 20 > 4

48 - 2 = 46 16 - 6 = 10
46 > 4 10 > 4

32 - 3 = 29 12 - 8 = 4
29 > 4 4 = 4

Because a = 12 and b = 8 satisfies both equations that represent the given sentence, the two positive numbers are 12 and 8.

User Anders
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