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If a and b are the x values of the solutions to the system y = 4x-2

a) a + b = 2
b) a * b = -2
c) a + b = -4
d) a * b = 4

User Sethen
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1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

The question asks about the sum and product of x-values for a system of equations including y = 4x - 2. However, the question only presents one linear equation without a counterpart, thus it's impossible to calculate a + b or a * b without more information.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question from the student asks about the values of x in a system involving a linear equation. Given that y = 4x - 2, we are looking for the sum (a + b) and product (a * b) of the x-values, assuming there are two solutions, possibly from intersecting with another linear equation (not provided in the question).

However, as the question stands, we only have one linear equation, which is y = 4x - 2, with no other equation to form a system.

This equation represents a line with a slope of 4 and a y-intercept of -2. The x-values, in this case, would not exist as two distinct solutions without a second equation to compare it with, so the values of a + b and a * b cannot be determined from the given information.

If we had a quadratic equation of the form at² + bt + c = 0, we could use the quadratic formula to find the solutions, but that is not applicable in this case since this system only has one linear equation provided without additional context.

User Thibaut Guirimand
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