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Question

The sum of two numbers is 3. The difference of the squares of the numbers is 33. What is the absolute value of the difference of the two numbers?

Accepted Answer

Let the two numbers be x and y. We are given x+y=3 and x^2-y^2=33. Factoring the second equation, we have (x+y)(x-y)=33. Thus 3(x-y)=33, and so x-y=11.