Thread: algebraic fractions

Please help me simplify this.

Originally Posted by roger federer

Please help me simplify this.

Well as you know, to add fractions we need a common denominator, the easiest thing to do when you have polynomials in the denominator is to create a common denominator by multiplying them together, so for this problem, our common denominator will be x(x+1)

Also remember, that we can multiply things by 1 without changing their value, so we are going to multiply by 1 in a special way

all we did was multiply each fraction by 1, but in a special form

So now lets expand,

And now we can add the two fractions,

I consider that as simple as possible, though some might want to multiply the denominator out, yielding