Find the value of (x/y)^2 given x + y = 3 and x - y = 9

Published on October 21, 2024

Algebra

By solving the system of equations x + y = 3 and x - y = 9, we find x = 6 and y = -3. Then, substituting these values into (x/y)^2, we get 4.

Question

Answer

We are given the following system of equations:
and we want to find .
Step 1: Solve for one variable in terms of the other.
Let’s solve the first equation for :
Step 2: Substitute the expression from Step 1 into the second equation.
Substituting into the second equation gives:
Step 3: Solve for the remaining variable.
Simplifying the equation from Step 2:
Step 4: Substitute the value found in Step 3 back into either of the original equations to solve for the other variable.
Let’s substitute into the equation :
Step 5: Substitute the values of and into the expression we want to evaluate.
Substituting and into gives: