Final value question

[LVBrown]

Hi,

I am practicing for a recruitment assessment and one of the example questions is:

'What is the final value of a and b if the following rules apply:

a = 10
b = 20
b = a'

I have no idea how to approach this; does anyone know how to go about this?

 

[HallsofIvy]

That depends entirely on what a' means and that is not a standard mathematics notation. What kind of job is this for? Is it computer programming using a language in which a' has meaning as an operation on a?

 

[Country Boy]

If a' has the usual meaning, the derivative of a, then since a= 10, a constant, a'= 0, NOT b= 20.

Another, though unlikely, interpretation is that f(x)= ax^2+ b= 10x^2+ 20 so that f'(1), not a', is 20= b.