(a) Given that 110\(_x\) - 40\(_{five}\). find the value of x (b) Simplify \(\frac{15}{\sqrt{75}} + \(\sqrt{108}\) + \(\sqrt{432}\), leaving the answer in t...

Answer Details

a) To find the value of x, we need to convert the numbers in the expression from different number systems to a common number system, in this case, base 10.

110_x is a number in base x, so to convert it to base 10, we need to evaluate the expression:

110_x = 1 * x² + 1 * x + 0 = x² + x

40_five is a number in base 5, so to convert it to base 10, we need to evaluate the expression:

40_five = 4 * 5¹ + 0 * 5⁰ = 20

So, the expression 110_x - 40_five becomes:

x² + x - 20 = 0

We can solve for x by using the quadratic formula or by factoring the equation.

Using the quadratic formula, we get:

x = (-1 ± √(1² - 4 * 1 * -20)) / (2 * 1)

x = (-1 ± √(1 + 80)) / 2

x = (-1 ± 9) / 2

So, the two solutions are:

x = (8 - 9) / 2 = -0.5

x = (8 + 9) / 2 = 8.5

Since x must be a positive integer, the only possible solution is x = 8.

b) To simplify the expression, we need to simplify each term inside the parenthesis separately.

First, we simplify the fraction:

15 / √75 = 15 / √(3² * 5²) = 15 / (3 * 5) = 15 / 15 = 1

Next, we simplify the square root terms:

√108 = √(2² * 3³) = √(2² * 3² * 3) = 3 * 3 = 9

√432 = √(2⁴ * 3³) = √(2² * 2² * 3³) = 6 * 3 = 18

So, the expression becomes:

1 + 9 + 18 = 28

Therefore, the simplified expression is 28, which is not in the form a√b where a and b are positive integers.