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jmc

algebra junior

Problem

Suppose , , and are nonzero real numbers, and . What are the possible value(s) for ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
There are cases to consider: Case : of , , and are positive and the other is negative. Without loss of generality (WLOG), we can assume that and are positive and is negative. In this case, we have that Case : of , , and are negative and the other is positive. WLOG, we can assume that and are negative and is positive. In this case, we have that Note these are the only valid cases, for neither negatives nor positives would work as they cannot sum up to . In both cases, we get that the given expression equals .
Final answer
A