SOLUTION: Given positive integers x and y such that 1/x,+1/y =1/12 , what is the smallest possible value for x + y?

Question 1075905: Given positive integers x and y such that 1/x,+1/y =1/12 , what is the smallest possible value for x + y?
Answer by math_helper(2461) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The equation can be re-arranged:

(1)

If we think of xy as the area of a rectangle, then the right hand side of (1) is the area, and the left hand side is 6 times the perimeter. The maximum area for minimal perimeter is when the shape is a square (x=y), so let's try x=y:

Discard x=0 because x and y are positive integers.
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So is the minimum value of x+y.

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