Algebra 1

Published by Prentice Hall
ISBN 10: 0133500403
ISBN 13: 978-0-13350-040-0

Chapter 11 - Rational Expressions and Functions - 11-4 Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions - Practice and Problem-Solving Exercises - Page 676: 36

Answer

$2$ examples: $\frac{1}{x}$ and $\frac{2}{3x}$ $LCD=3x$ sum: $\frac{5}{3x}$.

Work Step by Step

An example of two rational expressions with different denominators are $\frac{1}{x}$ and $\frac{2}{3x}$. The $LCD$ of $x$ and $3x$ is $3x$ since it is the simplest expression that can be exactly divided both by $3$ and $x$. The sum is given by $$ \frac{1}{x}+\frac{2}{3x} .$$ Changing the two rational expressions to equivalent rational expressions that use the $LCD$, then $$\begin{aligned} \frac{1}{x}+\frac{2}{3x}&= \frac{1}{x}\cdot\frac{3}{3}+\frac{2}{3x} \\&= \frac{3}{3x}+\frac{2}{3x} .\end{aligned} $$ Adding/Subtracting similar fractions involves adding/subtracting the numerators and copying the common denominator. Therefore, $$\begin{aligned} \frac{3}{3x}+\frac{2}{3x}&= \frac{5}{3x} \end{aligned} .$$Hence, the sum of the two rational expressions is $\frac{5}{3x}$.
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