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This is kind of an odd question. You could mix and match perfect squares until you find numbers that work. 8^2 + 7^2 + 5^2 = 64 + 49 + 25 = 138. There's actually no reason to use the second piece of information here (which could have been worded a bit more clearly), but if we took 8, 7, and 5, there are three products we can generate by selecting two of the three numbers and then multiplying them: 8*7, 8*5, and 7*5, or 56, 40, and 35. These do, in fact, sum to 131.nkmungila1 wrote:The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the sum of their products taken two at a time is 131. Their sum is:
A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
E. 60
(Worth noting that 11^2 + 4^2 + 1^2 would also get us to 138, but because 11 + 4 + 1 = 16 isn't an option, we can discard this possibility without testing to see if the second condition would be met.)nkmungila1 wrote:The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the sum of their products taken two at a time is 131. Their sum is:
A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
E. 60
Hi nkmungila1,nkmungila1 wrote:The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the sum of their products taken two at a time is 131. Their sum is:
A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
E. 60
Those were the first squares that popped into my head - I was pretty surprised that there was another set of three squares that sums to 138! (which, apropos of nothing, has been a favorite number of mine ever since I heard that Misfits song about it 20 years ago ...)DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:(Worth noting that 11^2 + 4^2 + 1^2 would also get us to 138, but because 11 + 4 + 1 = 16 isn't an option, we can discard this possibility without testing to see if the second condition would be met.)nkmungila1 wrote:The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the sum of their products taken two at a time is 131. Their sum is:
A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
E. 60
I'm making an official request that we all make a more concerted effort to make more GMAT-Misfit connections on these boardsMatt@VeritasPrep wrote:Those were the first squares that popped into my head - I was pretty surprised that there was another set of three squares that sums to 138! (which, apropos of nothing, has been a favorite number of mine ever since I heard that Misfits song about it 20 years ago ...)DavidG@VeritasPrep wrote:(Worth noting that 11^2 + 4^2 + 1^2 would also get us to 138, but because 11 + 4 + 1 = 16 isn't an option, we can discard this possibility without testing to see if the second condition would be met.)nkmungila1 wrote:The sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the sum of their products taken two at a time is 131. Their sum is:
A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
E. 60
nkmungila1 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2017 2:44 amThe sum of the squares of three numbers is 138, while the sum of their products taken two at a time is 131. Their sum is:
A. 20
B. 30
C. 40
D. 50
E. 60
