College Algebra (6th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32178-228-3
ISBN 13: 978-0-32178-228-1

Chapter 1 - Equations and Inequalities - Exercise Set 1.5 - Page 161: 128

Answer

The solutions are $x=\dfrac{3}{2}\pm\dfrac{\sqrt{5}}{2}$

Work Step by Step

$\dfrac{x-1}{x-2}+\dfrac{x}{x-3}=\dfrac{1}{x^{2}-5x+6}$ Factor the denominator of the fraction on the right side of the equation: $\dfrac{x-1}{x-2}+\dfrac{x}{x-3}=\dfrac{1}{(x-2)(x-3)}$ Multiply the whole equation by $(x-2)(x-3)$: $(x-2)(x-3)\Big[\dfrac{x-1}{x-2}+\dfrac{x}{x-3}=\dfrac{1}{(x-2)(x-3)}\Big]$ $(x-1)(x-3)+x(x-2)=1$ $x^{2}-3x-x+3+x^{2}-2x=1$ Take all terms to the left side of the equation and simplify: $x^{2}-3x-x+3+x^{2}-2x-1=0$ $2x^{2}-6x+2=0$ Take out common factor $2$ from the left side: $2(x^{2}-3x+1)=0$ Take the $2$ to divide the right side: $x^{2}-3x+1=\dfrac{0}{2}$ $x^{2}-3x+1=0$ Use the quadratic formula to solve this equation. The formula is $x=\dfrac{-b\pm\sqrt{b^{2}-4ac}}{2a}$ In this case, $a=1$, $b=-3$ and $c=1$ Substitute the known values into the formula and evaluate: $x=\dfrac{-(-3)\pm\sqrt{(-3)^{2}-4(1)(1)}}{2(1)}=\dfrac{3\pm\sqrt{9-4}}{2}=...$ $...=\dfrac{3\pm\sqrt{5}}{2}=\dfrac{3}{2}\pm\dfrac{\sqrt{5}}{2}$
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