Integers a, b, c, d, e

Algebra Level 3

If a, b, c, d, and e are distinct integers such that (4 - a)(4 - b)(4 - c)(4 - d)(4 - e) = 12, then what is the sum of a + b + c + d + e =?

it can't be solved 3 11 17

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1 solution

Khaled Rauny
Jan 14, 2018

As a a , b b , c c , d d , and e e are distinct integers, ( 4 a ) (4-a) , ( 4 b ) (4-b) , ( 4 c ) (4-c) , ( 4 d ) (4-d) , and ( 4 e ) (4-e) must be distinct integers.

There is only one such case where 12 12 has 5 5 distinct factors that are integers;

12 = ( 3 ) ( 2 ) ( 1 ) ( 1 ) ( 2 ) 12=(3)(2)(1)(-1)(-2)

So,

4 a = 3 a = 1 4-a=3 \implies a=1

4 b = 2 b = 2 4-b=2 \implies b=2

4 c = 1 c = 3 4-c=1 \implies c=3

4 d = 1 d = 5 4-d=-1 \implies d=5

4 e = 2 e = 6 4-e=-2 \implies e=6

Therefore, a + b + c + d + e = 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 + 6 = 17 a+b+c+d+e = 1+2+3+5+6 = \boxed{17}

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