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by Gurpinder » Fri Sep 03, 2010 12:18 pm
Image


when a problem says...in terms of t...or any other variable what do they mean by that....

thx all
"Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress."
- Alfred A. Montapert, Philosopher.
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by debmalya_dutta » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:11 pm
Gurpinder wrote:Image


when a problem says...in terms of t...or any other variable what do they mean by that....

thx all
basically , the mentioned variable should be the only "variable"' bit of the answer i.e should be the only variable in the answer....
for example in the problem that you pointed ...

hypothetically , another solution may be possible in terms of multiple variable of S and T or only in terms of S ... But what they are asking for is that the answer be expressed in terms of only t
@Deb
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by debmalya_dutta » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:13 pm
adding to it .. I could have said the answer is (202/201) * (1/s) ... this is also correct .. But the question asks me to express it only in terms of t
@Deb
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by this_time_i_will » Sat Sep 04, 2010 1:37 am
s = 100*101*....*200
t = 100*101*...*201

so, t = s*201.... or s = t/201.........................(1)

1/s + 1/t = (s+t)/st . Now use eqn(1) above and substitute for s and solve.
i got 202/t, D
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by Gurpinder » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:07 am
I guess the takeaway would be that when ever you see a question that expresses its answers in terms of the relationship between variables, theres ALWAYS a catch in the problem that will tell you about their relationship. So you just have to lookout for it.

In this problem, it was:
s --> 100x101x102......200
t --> 100x101x102......200.....x201

so the relationship between the two variables is that t=s*201 or s=t/201

Thx guys!
"Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress."
- Alfred A. Montapert, Philosopher.
Join the discussion