Carcass wrote:
If \(a\), \(b\), and \(c\) are not equal to 0 or 1 and if \(a^x=b\) , \(b^y=c\) , and \(c^z = a\) , then \(xyz=\)
(A) 0
(B) 1
(C) 2
(D) a
(E) abc
Great question!!
GIVEN: a^x = bRaise both sides to the power of y to get: (a^x)^y = b^y
Simplify to get: a^(xy) = b^y
GIVEN: b^y = cWe just learned that a^(xy) = b^y
So, take the above equation and replace b^y with c to get: a^(xy) = c
Now raise both sides to the power of z to get: [a^(xy)]^z = c^z
Simplify to get: a^(xyz) = c^z
GIVEN: c^z = aWe just learned that a^(xyz) = c^z
So, take the above equation and replace c^z with a to get: a^(xyz) = a
In other words, a^(xyz) = a^1
So, we can conclude that xyz = 1
Answer: B
Cheers,
Brent