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2016 AMC 12A Problem 7

Problem 7 of 25EasierAlgebra

Which of these describes the graph of x2(x+y+1)=y2(x+y+1)?x^2(x+y+1)=y^2(x+y+1)?

Answer choices

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Solution

Moving all terms to one side gives (x2y2)(x+y+1)=0, (x^2-y^2)(x+y+1)=0, which factors as (xy)(x+y)(x+y+1)=0. (x-y)(x+y)(x+y+1)=0. The graph is therefore the union of the lines x=y,x=y, x=y,x=-y, and x+y+1=0.x+y+1=0. The first two lines intersect at the origin, but the third line x+y=1x+y=-1 is parallel to x+y=0x+y=0 and does not pass through the origin. So the graph consists of three lines that do not all pass through a common point. Thus, the correct answer is D.

More practice

Concepts: factoring · difference of squares

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.