Question 413610
"the sum of two whole numbers is 9" means that {{{x+y=9}}}. Solve for y to get {{{y=9-x}}}



" the sum of their reciprocals is 1/2" tells us that {{{1/x+1/y=1/2}}}. Multiply EVERY term by the LCD 2xy to get {{{2y+2x=xy}}}



Now plug in {{{y=9-x}}} to get {{{2(9-x)+2x=x(9-x)}}}



At this point, you have an equation with 1 unknown. Simply expand everything out, simplify, and then use the quadratic formula to find x. I'll let you take it from here.



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