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Find the positive number which, when increased by 17, equals 60 times its reciprocal.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: 3

Explanation:

Problem restatement
Find positive x such that x + 17 = 60 × (1/x).


Concept/Approach
Form a quadratic equation and solve using the discriminant.


Step-by-step calculation
x + 17 = 60/x x2 + 17x − 60 = 0 Discriminant D = 172 + 4×60 = 289 + 240 = 529 = 232 x = (−17 ± 23)/2 ⇒ x = 3 or x = −20 Positive solution ⇒ x = 3


Verification/Alternative
3 + 17 = 20 and 60 × (1/3) = 20; equality holds.


Final Answer
3

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