document.write( "Question 452389: My grandaughter came home with six of these math problems (6th grade)....\r
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Using the numbers (2,3,4,5,7,8,9) fill in the blanks.
\n" ); document.write( " _*_-_/_+_*_/_=3\r
\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Using brute force it took me (and four other ADULTS) several hours to answer all 6 questions....
\n" ); document.write( "Am I missing something here?? Is there some technique I am missing?
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Algebra.Com's Answer #311036 by richard1234(7193)\"\" \"About 
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
It is impossible to obtain 3 using all the digits once, assuming the order of operations is followed.\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "Suppose the integers are a,b,...g in that order, with\r
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\n" ); document.write( "\n" ); document.write( "The maximum value the RHS can attain is when c = 9, d = 2, in which RHS = 15/2. If this is the case, ab must be greater than or equal to 3*4 = 12, in which this is impossible. In all other cases, the maximum value of the RHS is smaller than the minimum value of the LHS, implying that equality is impossible to obtain.\r
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