Page 1 of 2

Calling All Mathmatical Geniuses

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:45 pm
by ghhyrd
Please, calling all geniuses, I have probably not come to the right place, but I need desperate help.

I have completely forgotten everything on this subject, so could someone with a big heart and a big brain (or even if this is easy, I have just had a complete mental wipeout) please find out one equation, that can be applied to

5 to get 7, 9 to get 26, 13 to get 57, and 17 to get 100.

Please show the method.

1 equation that works for

5-7

9-26

13-57

17-100

Thanks!

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:56 pm
by ghhyrd
Any takers? Tonight? Please?

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:15 am
by Matthew
What?

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:55 am
by Wild Fragaria
I wanna help, but I am too slow tonight. Looks familiar...

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:01 am
by Matthew
Ditto to that first part.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 4:04 am
by BlackHole
I'd like to say i'm a mathematical genius, but i'm limited to intermediate algebra :\

I'll take a look at it. For one, a system of equations is in order.

EDIT: no idea.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:02 am
by Wanderer
First make an assumption that it is 2nd order polynomial (educated guess). Then form the equations..
1) 25A + 5B + C = 7
2) 81A + 9B + C = 26
3) 169A + 13B + C = 57
4) 289A + 17B + C = 100

Use these as simultaneous equations.. First calculate B using 1) and 2) (really simple elimination, just get rid of C) and you should come up with something like B = (19 -56A)/4

Then substitute the B in the 3) and 4) with this and calculate A (again the same simple elimination of C) which should be 3/8. Then use the earlier B = ... to get B ( -1/2 ) and finally calculate the C using any of the original functions ( 1/8 ).

So you end up with f(x) = 3/8 x^2 - 1/2 x + 1/8

Or thats how i would do it.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:41 am
by ghhyrd
Wanderer wrote:First make an assumption that it is 2nd order polynomial (educated guess). Then form the equations..
1) 25A + 5B + C = 7
2) 81A + 9B + C = 26
3) 169A + 13B + C = 57
4) 289A + 17B + C = 100

Use these as simultaneous equations.. First calculate B using 1) and 2) (really simple elimination, just get rid of C) and you should come up with something like B = (19 -56A)/4

Then substitute the B in the 3) and 4) with this and calculate A (again the same simple elimination of C) which should be 3/8. Then use the earlier B = ... to get B ( -1/2 ) and finally calculate the C using any of the original functions ( 1/8 ).

So you end up with f(x) = 3/8 x^2 - 1/2 x + 1/8

Or thats how i would do it.
Umm. I will give that a try, but did you actually test it?
Where did f(x) come from,
and
Does x^2 mean X squared?


By the way, this question is simple but hard. It just needs one formula or equation such as 7=5^2-2 or even 7=5+2, but one equation that works for all of them, turning
5 into 7
9 into 26
13 into 57
17 into 100

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:46 am
by Wanderer
x^2 is x squared

Test it yourself if you like.

With f(x) i just marked the thing as function

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:57 am
by BlackHole
simultaneous equations
Curiousity here, is that another term for "system of equations" or does it mean something else?

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:13 am
by Wanderer
Dunno... i have never really been educated about proper terms in math in English (only in Finnish) so i just tossed in a term i quickly dug from the internet (wiki 'translation')..



Also for the note.. that is just a single example of vast (actually infinite) number of equations that get the correct result. Higher order polynomials, trigonometrical, exponential, combinations of these, etc.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:10 pm
by Matthew
AHHHH! MATH OVER SUMMER!!!

During the school, that makes perfect sense. But I'm not one be easily persauded to do math over the summer.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:55 pm
by ghhyrd
BlackHole wrote:
simultaneous equations
Curiousity here, is that another term for "system of equations" or does it mean something else?
Maybe

Simultaneous equations are where you will have two equations
e.g 2X + 15Y = 21
and 3Y + 21X = 23

X = ?
Y = ?
Wanderer wrote:x^2 is x squared

Test it yourself if you like.

With f(x) i just marked the thing as function
Yeah, I realised it all like 1 second after I posted it. I don't think it was right, I was always off by .25 using this. So I just put it into brackets and added + 1/20*5) in the end.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:17 pm
by Wanderer
Off by 0.25? I do not seem to agree...

f)x) = 3/8 * x^2 - 4/8 * x + 1/8

f(5) = 3/8 * 25 - 4/8 * 5 + 1/8
f(5) = (75 - 20 + 1) / 8
f(5) = 56/8 = 7

f(17) = 3/8 * 289 - 4/8 * 17 + 1/8
f(17) = (867 - 68 +1) / 8
f(17) = 800/8 = 100

f(9) = 208/8 = 26
f(13) = 456/8 = 57

Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2007 7:31 pm
by ghhyrd
Very strange, I tried it via calculator and it was very specific that it was off by .25, but It coudld be possible that I misinterpreted a certain part;

You put F(x)= 3/8X^2 - 1/2X+1/8
But is it meant to be;
F(x)= 3/8X^2 - 1/2(X + 1/8)
It was kinda unclear so I put it like this;
F(x)= (3/8x^2) - (((1/2x)+1/8)+1/20*5)

Which may be in some way a deviation from your original form, but still works so I will not complain ;)