SAT Math Question Help Please?

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<p>Can someone please tell me how to do this? I just randomly guessed. Thanks.</p>

<p>First thing I did was distribute the 6 to the exponents to make it a^3*b^2=432. I then factored out 432 completely and go the factors of 2,2,2,2,3,3,3. From that I was hoping to get one factor show up twice and another show up 3 times. I had 3 show up 3 times so a=3. For b you just need to make 2,2,2,2 into 4,4. So a=3 and b=4 so ab=12.</p>

<p>This may not be the best way to do it. This is just what popped into my head when I saw this problem.</p>

<p>Lol wow don’t write in your Chung workbook… That is just a waste! The book is like 35$! Write on scratch paper.</p>

<p>here’s how I’d do it…</p>

<p>432/2 = 216
216/2 = 108
108/2 = 54
54/2 = 27
27/3 = 9
9/3 = 3
3/3 = 1</p>

<p>so technically 432 is equal to 2x2x2x2 x 3x3x3 or we can say
432= 2^4 x 3^3
distribute the power 6 so it becomes a^3 x b^2 = 432 = 2^4 x 3^3
or a^3 x b^2 = 2^4 x 3^3
and you should know that 2^4 is equal to 4^2 so we can say
b^2 x a^3 = 4^2 x 3^3 </p>

<p>so clearly u can see that b=4 and a=3, so ab= 4x3 or 12
so the answer is B</p>

<p>Ok thanks!</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure this was in the BB. And besides, people should write in their books since they won’t have scratch paper the day of the SAT.</p>