Question

One number is 6 more than another. The difference between their squares is 204. What are the numbers?

Answer 1

Answer: 20 and 14

Explanation:

Using a little guess and check, we can figure out that the numbers are 6 apart and the difference between their squares is 204.

`20^2 = 400\\14^2=196`

`20^2-14^2 = 204`

A trick to doing this is to start with a number that is easily squared like 10 or 20 and see if the difference between their numbers is larger or smaller and change your numbers based on them.

Hope this helped :)

Answer 2

14 and 20

Explanation:

Let x and y be two numbers where x < y.

We are given :

y - x = 6

y² - x² = 204

Then

y - x = 6

(y - x)(y + x) = 204

Then

y - x = 6

6 × (y + x) = 204

then

y - x = 6 (Equation 1)

y + x = 34 (Equation 2)

Then

(Equation 1) + (Equation 2) ⇒ 2y = 40 ⇒ y = 20

Now ,we substitute y by 20 in equation 1 :

y - x = 6

⇔ 20 - x = 6

⇔ 20 - 6 = x

⇔ x = 14