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How many years did Diophantus live?

+2 votes
410 views

Diophantus was a Greek mathematician who lived in the third century. He was one of the first mathematicians to use algebraic symbols.

Most of what is known about Diophantus's life comes from an algebraic riddle from around the early sixth century. The riddle states:

Diophantus's youth lasted one sixth of his life. He grew a beard after one twelfth more. After one seventh more of his life, he married. 5 years later, he and his wife had a son. The son lived exactly one half as long as his father, and Diophantus died four years after his son.

How many years did Diophantus live?

posted Mar 6, 2018 by Varuna Magar

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2 Answers

+1 vote

If "L" is how long Diophantus lived in years, then according to the question the equation below must hold good.
(1/6)L + (1/12)L + (1/7)L + 5 + (1/2)L + 4 = L
(0.**********)L = 9
L = 84 years.

answer Mar 6, 2018 by Tejas Naik
+1 vote

X = 1/6 X + 1/12 X + 1/7 X + 5 + 1/2 X + 4

Solving above equation:

X = 84

answer Mar 7, 2018 by Ahmad Cheragh



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