Thread: Algebra fractions

I've got a math exam tomorrow, and there's this one type of problem our teacher said would have variants in the test:

( (l^(2)wx^(2)ex^(6)) /2 ) + ( (n^(4)o^(6)d*e) / (n^(3)o^(5)) )

I've been having a lot of trouble in math this year and algebra is my best area, so I'm trying to be my best to get myself ahead on the exam, I really can't afford to fail. I would really apreciate some help.

Can I get a step-by-step breakdown on how I would simplify a problem like this? I've looked over my math textbook but I can't find anything!

Originally Posted by Magister

I've got a math exam tomorrow, and there's this one type of problem our teacher said would have variants in the test:

( (l^(2)wx^(2)ex^(6)) /2 ) + ( (n^(4)o^(6)d*e) / (n^(3)o^(5)) )

I've been having a lot of trouble in math this year and algebra is my best area, so I'm trying to be my best to get myself ahead on the exam, I really can't afford to fail. I would really apreciate some help.

Can I get a step-by-step breakdown on how I would simplify a problem like this? I've looked over my math textbook but I can't find anything!

What exactly do you want to do here? simplify?

if so (and this is a really clumbsy problem if that is the case), here are the steps.


....l^(2)wx^(2)ex^(6)......................n^(4)o^(6)d*e
..--------------------.........+.........------------------
.............2.......................................n^(3)o^(5)

before doing anything, i realize in the second fracton, i can cancel the entire denominator from the numerator (you know how to do that right?) i see an n^4 in the top and an n^3 in the bottom, so i can divide the bottom into the top, leaving n in the top and 1 in the bottom. a similar thing happens for the o^6 in the top and o^5 in the bottom


......l^(2)wx^(2)ex^(6)..........................n*o*d*e
..= --------------------.........+.........------------------
...............2..............................................1

now i combine the fractons, the lcm is 2

.......l^(2)wx^(2)ex^(6)......+........2(n*o*d*e)
..= --------------------------------------------
.......................................2

now i notice i have an x^2 and an x^6 in a product in the top, so i can combine these by adding the powers to get x^8

.....l^(2)wx^(8)e......+........2(n*o*d*e)
..= ---------------------------------------
.............................2

now i realize e is common to both terms, so i factor it out

.....e[l^(2)wx^(8)......+........2*n*o*d]
..= ---------------------------------------
.............................2

and that's it i suppose, like i said, a real clumbsy problem, unless you wanted to do something other than simplify

Thanks for the help, simpler than I thought. And, as far as your question goes, I think I only have to simplify it, I don't see what else you can do. While the teacher didn't say to simplify it, he said to "complete" it I just assumed he meant simplify

Originally Posted by Magister

Thanks for the help, simpler than I thought. And, as far as your question goes, I think I only have to simplify it, I don't see what else you can do. While the teacher didn't say to simplify it, he said to "complete" it I just assumed he meant simplify

yeah, but like i said, it's a weird question, because you can get rid of the denominator in the second fraction right off the bat. and splitting the x^8 into x^6 and x^2 wasn't that impressive either. i assumed there was more to the question, it reall wasn't a good example of a simplification problem.

do you have any more you're having a problem with?

Originally Posted by Jhevon

yeah, but like i said, it's a weird question, because you can get rid of the denominator in the second fraction right off the bat. and splitting the x^8 into x^6 and x^2 wasn't that impressive either. i assumed there was more to the question, it reall wasn't a good example of a simplification problem.

do you have any more you're having a problem with?

Nope, but thanks a lot for your help. I'm starting to think I may have written it down wrong