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Algebra Level 2

Solve for x x :

log x 3 = log 81 x \log_x3=\log_{81}x

Give the answer as the product of the solutions plus the smallest solution


The answer is 1.1111111111111111111111111111111.

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3 solutions

Ron Gallagher
Jun 15, 2020

Using properties of logarithms, the equation can be rewritten as:

[log(base 3)(x)]^2 = (log(base 3)(3))*(log(base 3)(3^4)) = 4

Taking the positive and negative roots and then anti-logs yields x = 3^2 or x = 3^-2. Hence, the required solution is 1 + 1/9 = 10/9

Chew-Seong Cheong
Jun 15, 2020

log x 3 = log 81 x log 3 log x = log x log 81 = log x 4 log 3 log 2 x = 4 log 2 3 log x = ± log 9 x = 9 , 1 9 \begin{aligned} \log_x 3 & = \log_{81} x \\ \frac {\log 3}{\log x} & = \frac {\log x}{\log 81} = \frac {\log x}{4\log 3} \\ \implies \log^2 x & = 4 \log^2 3 \\ \log x & = \pm \log 9 \\ \implies x & = 9, \frac 19 \end{aligned}

Therefore 9 × 1 9 + 1 9 = 1.111... 9 \times \dfrac 19 + \dfrac 19 = \boxed{1.111...} .

Marvin Kalngan
Jun 20, 2020

let l o g x 3 = l o g 81 x = a log_x 3 = log_{81} x = a

l o g x 3 = a log_x 3 = a

3 = x a 3=x^a

l o g 81 x = a log_{81} x=a

8 1 a = x 81^a = x

3 4 a = x 3^{4a} = x

Now, substitute

( x a ) 4 a = x (x^a)^{4a}=x

x 4 a 2 = x x^{4a^2}=x

4 a 2 = 1 4a^2 = 1

a 2 = 1 4 a^2=\dfrac{1}{4}

a = ± 1 2 a=\pm \dfrac{1}{2}

Now, solve for x x

x = 8 1 1 2 = 9 x=81^{\frac{1}{2}}=9

or

x = 8 1 1 2 = 1 8 1 1 2 = 1 9 x=81^{-\frac{1}{2}}=\dfrac{1}{81^{\frac{1}{2}}}=\dfrac{1}{9}

The required answer is

9 × 1 9 + 1 9 1.111 9 \times \dfrac{1}{9}+\dfrac{1}{9}\approx \boxed{1.111}

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