Ask Question
10 November, 08:42

if a and b are distinct integers such that ab<1 and b ≠0, what is the greatest possible value of a/b

+3
Answers (1)
  1. 10 November, 12:31
    0
    'a' and 'b' are integers so they are values drawn from the set { ..., - 3, - 2, - 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ... } basically any positive or negative whole number, and we include 0 as well. If 'a' and 'b' are forced to be positive, then there are no solutions to a*b < 1. But if we include negative values, then a*b < 1 has solutions. For example (a, b) = (-2,1) is a solution because a*b = - 2*1 = - 2 which is less than 1.

    It turns out that (a, b) = (0, k) which plugs into a/b = 0/k = 0 which is the (a, b) pairing that leads to the largest value of ab. We can use any number k as long as k is nonzero. If 'a' were nonzero, then 'a' would have to be negative while k is positive (or vice versa) to ensure that a*b is negative, but these results would make a/b smaller than 0, thus not the largest possible value of a/b

    In short, the answer to your question is 0
Know the Answer?
Not Sure About the Answer?
Find an answer to your question ✅ “if a and b are distinct integers such that ab ...” in 📘 Mathematics if you're in doubt about the correctness of the answers or there's no answer, then try to use the smart search and find answers to the similar questions.
Search for Other Answers