June 2013 p32 q1
1473
Solve the equation: \(|x - 2| = \left|\frac{1}{3}x\right|\)
Solution
To solve \(|x - 2| = \left|\frac{1}{3}x\right|\), consider the cases for the absolute values.
Case 1: \(x - 2 = \frac{1}{3}x\)
Rearrange to get: \(x - \frac{1}{3}x = 2\)
\(\frac{2}{3}x = 2\)
\(x = 3\)
Case 2: \(x - 2 = -\frac{1}{3}x\)
Rearrange to get: \(x + \frac{1}{3}x = 2\)
\(\frac{4}{3}x = 2\)
\(x = \frac{3}{2}\)
Thus, the solutions are \(x = 3\) or \(x = \frac{3}{2}\).
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