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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from yolanda, a student: The sum of two whole numbers is 12.If the sum of the squares of those numbers is 74,what are the two numbers? |
HI Yolanda,
The two numbers are not very large since their sum is only 12. Since they are quite small maybe you can solve this problem by making a list of whole numbers and their squares.
| Number | Square |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 4 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 16 |
| 5 | 25 |
| . | . |
| . | . |
| . | . |
Continue the table and look for squares that add to 74.
I hope this helps,
Penny
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