IPMAT/Algebra•9mos
aloo_samosa
SSCBS

Doubt

In this question they were directly able to solve this using specfic values of the variable but in exam it is not like such values will magically appear in our mind. So how does one solve this during exam??

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Comments (1)

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basicallybhavesh
IIM Ranchi (IR 2)
MOD•9mos
Correct

We know that there are 4 consecutive numbers.

Let's randomly take bigger numbers: 5,6,7,8:

5^6 = 15,625

7^8 = much bigger than 15,625 for sure.

So, when we have this idea, we need to play with very small numbers. We also know that anything to the power 0 is 1.

I also know that 1 raised to the power anything is 1. I can play with even powers of -1 to get 1 too.

Hence, we can play with the numbers as described in the solution.

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