ABC26GN1002 · Simplification

Subject: General Aptitude · Chapter: Simplification · Exam: · Marks: · Difficulty:

If $a b+b c+c a=0$, then what is the value of $\left(\frac{1}{a^{2}-b c}+\frac{1}{b^{2}-c a}+\frac{1}{c^{2}-a b}\right)$ ?
(a)0
(b)1
(c)3
(d)$a+b+c$
Answer
Answer (as printed): A
Explanation
$$\begin{aligned} & a b+b c+c a=0 \Rightarrow a b=-b c-c a, b c=-a b-c a, \\ & c a=-a b-b c . \\ & \begin{aligned} \therefore \quad \frac{1}{a^{2}-b c} & +\frac{1}{b^{2}-c a}+\frac{1}{c^{2}-a b} \\ & =\frac{1}{a^{2}+a b+a c}+\frac{1}{b^{2}+a b+b c}+\frac{1}{c^{2}+b c+c a} \\ & =\frac{1}{a(a+b+c)}+\frac{1}{b(a+b+c)}+\frac{1}{c(a+b+c)} \\ & =\frac{b c+c a+a b}{a b c(a+b+c)}=0 .[\because a b+b c+c a=0] \end{aligned} \end{aligned}$$

Explanation as extracted from the printed page; notation may be imperfect.

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