Problem:
Assuming aî€ =3,bî€ =4, and cî€ =5, what is the value in simplest form of the following expression?
5−ca−3​⋅3−ab−4​⋅4−bc−5​
Answer Choices:
A. −1
B. 1
C. 60abc​
D. abc1​−601​
E. 601​−abc1​
Solution:
If xî€ =y, then
y−xx−y​=−1
We use this fact to simplify the original expression:
===​5−ca−3​⋅3−ab−4​⋅4−bc−5​3−aa−3​⋅4−bb−4​⋅5−cc−5​−1⋅−1⋅−1(A)−1​​
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions