Product of Squares from Sum of Cubes

XAT 2022 · Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation · Easy · Algebra

The sum of the cubes of two numbers is 128, while the sum of the reciprocals of their cubes is 2.

What is the product of the squares of the numbers?

  1. A.

    64

  2. B.

    256

  3. C.

    16

  4. D.

    48

  5. E.

    32

Answer

C

Explanation

a3+b3=128a^3 + b^3 = 128 1a3+1b3=a3+b3a3b3=2  ⟹  128a3b3=2  ⟹  a3b3=64  ⟹  ab=4\frac{1}{a^3} + \frac{1}{b^3} = \frac{a^3 + b^3}{a^3 b^3} = 2 \implies \frac{128}{a^3 b^3} = 2 \implies a^3 b^3 = 64 \implies ab = 4. Product of squares =(ab)2=42=16= (ab)^2 = 4^2 = 16.

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