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A-B =2
A+2= B

What is A and B

User AmbiguousX
by
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1 Answer

1 vote

Answer: No Solutions

The system is inconsistent.

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Step-by-step explanation:

A+2 = B is the same as B = A+2

We can replace B with A+2 in the first equation and solve for "A" like shown below.

A-B = 2

A-( B ) = 2

A - (A+2) = 2

A-A-2 = 2

0A-2 = 2

0-2 = 2

-2 = 2

We run into a problem. The "A" variable cancels out and the left hand side does not match with the right hand side. We get a contradiction.

No matter what we pick for A and B, there aren't any solutions to this system. We consider this system inconsistent.

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Another approach:

Rearrange the terms of A+2 = B to get A-B = -2

The original system of


\begin{cases}A-B = 2\\A+2 = B\end{cases}

turns into


\begin{cases}A-B = 2\\A-B = -2\end{cases}

Now let C = A-B, so we can replace each "A-B" with C.

The system now updates to


\begin{cases}C = 2\\C = -2\end{cases}

But it's impossible for a variable to take on more than one value at a time. C is not able to be equal to both 2 and -2 at the same time. This is another way to arrive at a contradiction which leads to "no solution".

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A third approach:

Replace each "A" with x. Replace each "B" with y

  • A-B = 2 becomes x-y = 2 and solves to y = x-2
  • A+2 = B becomes x+2 = y which is the same as y = x+2

If you were to graph those linear equations, then you should see parallel lines forming. Parallel lines never intersect. We would need them to intersect to form a solution (x,y). This is a visually quick way to see this system has no solutions.

Notice that y = x-2 and y = x+2 have the same slope m = 1, but different y intercepts.

User Alegscogs
by
4.3k points