MHB Find Half a Number's Reciprocal Increased by Half its Reciprocal

  • Thread starter Thread starter karush
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Reciprocal
AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around solving the equation involving the reciprocal of half a number and half the reciprocal of that number, which equals one-half. The original calculation shows that multiplying every term by 6n simplifies the equation, leading to the conclusion that n equals 5. However, a participant points out that multiplying by 2n is sufficient, yielding the same result of n equaling 5. The conversation highlights different approaches to simplifying the equation while arriving at the same solution. The final consensus confirms that n is indeed 5.
karush
Gold Member
MHB
Messages
3,240
Reaction score
5
$\tiny{3.1.2}$
The reciprocal of half a number increased by half the recipical of the number is $\dfrac{1}{2}$
$\begin{array}{rl}
n= & \textit{the number} \\ \\
\dfrac{n}{2}= &\textit{half the number}\\ \\
\dfrac{2}{n} = &\textit{the reciprocal of half the number}\\ \\
\dfrac{1}{2n}= & \textit{half the reciprocal of the number}\\ \\
\dfrac{2}{n}+\dfrac{1}{2n} &=\dfrac{1}{2}\\ \\
&\textit{Multiply every term by 6n to cancel denominators}\\ \\
12+3=15 &=3n\quad\therefore n=5
\end{array}$
hopefully :unsure:
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
ahhh victory...
 
karush said:
$\tiny{3.1.2}$
The reciprocal of half a number increased by half the recipical of the number is $\dfrac{1}{2}$
$\begin{array}{rl}
n= & \textit{the number} \\ \\
\dfrac{n}{2}= &\textit{half the number}\\ \\
\dfrac{2}{n} = &\textit{the reciprocal of half the number}\\ \\
\dfrac{1}{2n}= & \textit{half the reciprocal of the number}\\ \\
\dfrac{2}{n}+\dfrac{1}{2n} &=\dfrac{1}{2}\\ \\
&\textit{Multiply every term by 6n to cancel denominators}\\ \\
12+3=15 &=3n\quad\therefore n=5
\end{array}$
hopefully :unsure:
Very good. But why "Multiply every term by 6n"? There is no "3" in any of the denominators. Multiplying by 2n is sufficient:
$2n\left(\frac{2}{n}+ \frac{1}{2n}\right)= 2n\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)$
$4+ 1= n$ so $n= 5$.
 
Seemingly by some mathematical coincidence, a hexagon of sides 2,2,7,7, 11, and 11 can be inscribed in a circle of radius 7. The other day I saw a math problem on line, which they said came from a Polish Olympiad, where you compute the length x of the 3rd side which is the same as the radius, so that the sides of length 2,x, and 11 are inscribed on the arc of a semi-circle. The law of cosines applied twice gives the answer for x of exactly 7, but the arithmetic is so complex that the...

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
6
Views
1K
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
3
Views
1K
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
3
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
959
Back
Top