Find a positive number which when increased by 17 is equal to 60 times the reciprocal of the number.

Question: Find a positive number which when increased by 17 is equal to 60 times the reciprocal of the number.

Solution:
let the number be x

(x + 17) = 60 (1/x)
⇒ x² + 17x - 60 = 0
⇒ x² + 20x - 3x - 60 = 0
⇒ x (x + 20) - 3 (x + 20) = 0
⇒ (x + 20) (x - 3) = 0
∴ x = - 20 , 3

As the number is positive, answer is 3