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Nonlinear functions SAT question

Math · Advanced Math · Medium · Answer it here, explanation included.

The product of two positive integers is . If the first integer is greater than twice the second integer, what is the smaller of the two integers?

ExplanationShow

Choice B is correct. Let be the first integer and let be the second integer. If the first integer is greater than twice the second integer, then . If the product of the two integers is , then . Substituting for in this equation results in . Distributing the to both terms in the parentheses results in . Subtracting from both sides of this equation results in . The left-hand side of this equation can be factored by finding two values whose product is , or , and whose sum is . The two values whose product is and whose sum is are and . Thus, the equation can be rewritten as , which is equivalent to , or . By the zero product property, it follows that and . Subtracting from both sides of the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by yields . Since is a positive integer, the value of is not . Adding to both sides of the equation yields . Substituting for in the equation yields . Dividing both sides of this equation by results in . Therefore, the two integers are and , so the smaller of the two integers is .

Choice A is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

Choice C is incorrect. This is the larger of the two integers.

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.

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