Question

The product of seven and a number, reduced by 2 equals triple the same number, raised by 4. How do you find the number?

Answer 1

Is this question correct? should it read "raised by 2"?

Explanation:

Taken literally, what you have written can be interpreted in two ways.

First interpretation: `7x-2=3x^4`
Second interpretation: `7x-2=(3x)^4`
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Assumption: the question means `" "7x-2=3x^4`

`=>3x^4-7x+2=0`

Using iteration method:

Write as `x(3x^3-7)=-2`

`=>x=-2/(3x^3-7)`

Set the seed value for `x` as 0.5

`0.301886....`
`0.289123....`
`0.288704...`
`0.2886915....`
`0.2886911..... larr" that will do as the number of cycles"`

So one of the solutions is 0.28869 to 5 decimal places.

I can not find the seed value that returns 1.21 as a solution

Note that in this format `3x^3=+7` is an excluded value