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2003 AMC 12A Problem 6

Problem 6 of 25EasierAlgebraLogic

Define x♡yx\heartsuit y to be ∣x−y∣|x - y| for all real numbers xx and y.y. Which of the following statements is not true?

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Solution

Since x♡0=∣x−0∣=∣x∣,x\heartsuit 0=|x-0|=|x|, statement (C) claims ∣x∣=x|x|=x for all x,x, which fails when x<0.x\lt0. For example, (−1)♡0=1≠−1.(-1)\heartsuit 0 = 1 \neq -1. Every other statement follows directly from properties of the absolute value. Thus, the correct answer is C.
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Tagged: absolute value · counterexample

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