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Advanced Math / Nonlinear functions Difficulty: Hard

The function g is defined by gx=xx-2x+62. The value of g(7-w) is 0 , where w is a constant. What is the sum of all possible values of w ?

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Explanation

The correct answer is 25 . The value of g7-w is the value of gx when x=7-w, where w is a constant. Substituting 7-w for x in the given equation yields g7-w=7-w7-w-27-w+62, which is equivalent to g7-w=7-w5-w13-w2. It’s given that the value of g7-w is 0 . Substituting 0 for g7-w in the equation g7-w=7-w5-w13-w2 yields 0=7-w5-w13-w2. Since the product of the three factors on the right-hand side of this equation is equal to 0 , at least one of these three factors must be equal to 0 . Therefore, the possible values of w can be found by setting each factor equal to 0 . Setting the first factor equal to 0 yields 7-w=0. Adding w to both sides of this equation yields 7=w. Therefore, 7 is one possible value of w . Setting the second factor equal to 0 yields 5-w=0. Adding w to both sides of this equation yields 5=w. Therefore, 5 is a second possible value of w . Setting the third factor equal to 0 yields 13-w2=0. Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields 13-w=0. Adding w to both sides of this equation yields 13=w. Therefore, 13 is a third possible value of w . Adding the three possible values of w yields 7+5+13, or 25 . Therefore, the sum of all possible values of w is 25 .