a 5 = b + c , b 1 0 = c + a , c 1 3 = a + b .
Let a , b , c be positive real numbers satisfying the equations above.
What is a b c ?
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5 = a b + a c 1 0 = a b + b c 1 3 = a c + b c Adding all three equations yields 2 8 = 2 ( a b + b c + a c ) Now, we can plug in each of the first equations into this newly derived equation to find that b c = 9 , a c = 4 , a b = 1 .
Therefore, a = 3 2 , b = 2 3 , c = 6 ,
which multiply to ( 3 2 ) ( 2 3 ) ( 6 ) = 6 .
Good approach. The substitution of A = a b , B = b c , C = c a was hard to see.
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The three equations are equivalent to
a b + a c = 5
b c + a b = 1 0
a c + b c = 1 3
Therefore, 2 = 5 + 1 0 − 1 3 = ( a b + a c ) + ( b c + a b ) − ( b c + a c ) = 2 a b ⟹ a b = 1
Similarly, we can get b c = 9 , a c = 4 .
Thus, a b . b c . a c = ( a b c ) 2 = 3 6 ⟹ a b c = 6