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Advanced Math / Nonlinear equations in one variable and systems of equations in two variables Difficulty: Medium

y equals, x squared, minus 4 x, plus 4, and y equals, 4 minus x

If the ordered pair x comma y satisfies the system of equations above, what is one possible value of x ?

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Explanation

The correct answer is either 0 or 3. For an ordered pair to satisfy a system of equations, both the x- and y-values of the ordered pair must satisfy each equation in the system. Both expressions on the right-hand side of the given equations are equal to y, therefore it follows that both expressions on the right-hand side of the equations are equal to each other: x squared, minus 4 x, plus 4, equals, 4 minus x. This equation can be rewritten as x squared, minus 3 x, equals 0, and then through factoring, the equation becomes x times, open parenthesis, x minus 3, close parenthesis, equals 0. Because the product of the two factors is equal to 0, it can be concluded that either x equals 0 or x minus 3, equals 0, or rather, x equals 0 or x equals 3. Note that 0 and 3 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.