document.write( "Question 446590: barney chose two numbers a and b with 0 < a < b < 1. \r
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "He decided to combine the numbers and wrote down a+b, b-a, a-b, a/b, b/a and ab.\r
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "He saw that he had written the same number down twice and, even more surprisingly, that he had also written a second number down twice.\r
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "What were his possible starting numbers \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #307902 by richard1234(7193) $\"\"$ $\"About$

You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Best way would be to identify the range of each number (e.g. 0 < a+b < 2, etc.) by using extreme cases. The problem will become fairly tedious though. You could also try graphing various equations or trying substitutions (e.g. letting a = sin x, b = cos y) that make the problem no less different. \n" ); document.write( "

\n" );