Question 10.1 of Math Lesson 2 on MaximumSAT Book

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1

<p>I'm still trying to figure out why the answer to this question is 4/9 and not 2/3. The question says "if 1/3 of 1/6 of a certain number is one half of 1/4 times x times that same number, what is the value of x?"</p>

<p>I set it up as (1/3)(1/6)=(1/2)(1/4)x^2
which multiplied out became 1/18=1/8x^2
I moved over the numbers to get 8/18=x^2. Then I took the square root of x^2 and 8/18 to get x=2/3. However, the book says that the answer in reality is 4/9. Am I just reading the question wrong? Isn't x times that same number essentially x^2? Or is "that same number" referencing something different? I am very confused about this, any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>If there's a problem with me taking a question directly from the book let me know and I'll edit my post!</p>

2

<p>The "certain number" and x are 2 different numbers. So when you set up the equation, it should look something like (1/3)(1/6)y=(1/2)(1/4)xy, where y is the "certain number." Then you can cancels y's and solve for x.</p>

3

<p>Aha, I see where I made my error! Thank you, it is all very obvious now and I feel kinda silly. :P</p>