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1986 AIME Problems/Problem 4

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Problem

Determine \displaystyle 3x_4+2x_5 if \displaystyle x_1, \displaystyle x_2, \displaystyle x_3, \displaystyle x_4, and \displaystyle x_5 satisfy the system of equations below.

\displaystyle 2x_1+x_2+x_3+x_4+x_5=6
\displaystyle x_1+2x_2+x_3+x_4+x_5=12
\displaystyle x_1+x_2+2x_3+x_4+x_5=24
\displaystyle x_1+x_2+x_3+2x_4+x_5=48
\displaystyle x_1+x_2+x_3+x_4+2x_5=96

Solution

Adding all five equations gives us 6(x_1 + x_2 + x_3 + x_4 + x_5) = 6(1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16) so x_1 + x_2 + x_3 + x_4 + x_5 = 31. Subtracting this from the fourth given equation gives x_4 = 17 and subtracting it from the fifth given equation gives x_5 = 65, so our answer is 3\cdot17 + 2\cdot65 = 181.

See also

1986 AIME (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 3
Followed by
Problem 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Want to learn how to tackle those tough MATHCOUNTS and AMC counting and probability problems? Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Counting & Probability by David Patrick.
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