Question

one positive number exceeds another by 3 and their product is 88. find the numbers

Answer 1

Let the smaller number be x.

The bigger number will thus be x + 3.

The product of the two numbers is 88, so we have:

x(x + 3) = 88
x^2 + 3x = 88
x^2 + 3x - 88 = 0
(x + 11)(x - 8) = 0
x + 11 = 0 or x - 8 = 0
x = -11 or x = 8

Since the numbers are positive, we reject x = -11.

Hence, the answer is x = 8.