Respuesta :
Answer:
23
Step-by-step explanation:
We take a methodical approach by considering the different possible values of b when asqrtb is the simplest form of sqrtn.
Case 1: b=1. We can't forget the perfect squares! If n=100, for example, then sqrt100 can be written as 10sqrt1. So, we must include the perfect squares from 10^2=100 up through 22^2 = 484. (All greater squares are greater than 500.) There are 13 such squares.
Case 2: b=2. If b=2, then we have asqrtb = asqrt2 = sqrta^2 x sqrt2 = sqrt2a^2. We still must have a {>_} 10, but now we need 2a^2 to be no greater than 500. This means that a^2 must be no greater than 250, so a can be 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 15. There are 6 such values.
Case 3: b=3. We then have asqrtb = asqrt3 = sqrt3a^2. Since 3a^2 {<_} 500, we know that a^2 is less than 167. We still need a {>_} 10, so there are only 3 values of a in this case: 10, 11, 12.
We skip b=4 because then asqrtb would not be in simplest form.
Case 4: b=5. We then have asqrtb = sqrt5a^2, and a=10 is the only possible value for this case.
For any greater value of b, the resulting value of n is greater than 500 when a {>_} 10. So, there are no more possible numbers asqrtb that satisfy the problem. Since each of the 13+6+3+1 = 23 possibilities listed above represent different simplified forms, they give us 23 different possible values of n that satisfy the problem.
