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jmc

prealgebra junior

Problem

What is the smallest result that can be obtained from the following process? Choose three different numbers from the set . Add two of these numbers. * Multiply their sum by the third number.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Since we want the smallest possible result, and we are only adding and multiplying positive numbers over , we can "prune" the set to the three smallest numbers . Using bigger numbers will create bigger sums and bigger products. From there, compute the ways you can do the two operations: The smallest number is 36, giving an answer of
Final answer
C