SAT Math · Nonlinear equations in one variable · hard

The equation x² - 10x + c = 0 has two real solutions that differ by 4. What is the value of c?

The equation x2−10x+c=0x^2 - 10x + c = 0 has two real solutions that differ by 4. What is the value of cc?

Answer and explanation

Answer: 21

Let the roots be rr and r+4r + 4. For x2−10x+c=0x^2 - 10x + c = 0, the roots add to 10, so 2r+4=102r + 4 = 10 and r=3r = 3. The roots are 3 and 7, and cc is their product: 3×7=213 \times 7 = 21. Check: x2−10x+21=(x−3)(x−7)x^2 - 10x + 21 = (x - 3)(x - 7), and 7−3=47 - 3 = 4. A common wrong answer is 25, from using the roots 5 and 5, which sum to 10 but do not differ by 4. Another is 10, the sum of the roots, which is the xx-coefficient and not cc. A third is 4, the difference.

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