The sum of a number and its reciprocal is 17/8.Find the number
Let the number be n.
Then n + 1/n = 17/8 multiply both sides by 8n
8n^2 + 8 = 17n
8n^2 - 17n + 8 = 0
Using the quadratic formula,
n = (17 ±√(17^2 – 4*8*8))/(2*8)
n = (17 ±√(289 – 256))/(16)
n = (17 ±√(33))/(16)
n = (17 + √(33))/(16), n = (17 – √(33))/(16)